Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 2,436 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,436 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $15,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 123.4% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 143 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Ferguson

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: The latest headlines center on personal and royal-family developments involving Sarah Ferguson, including Epstein-related fallout, charity closures, and speculation about her finances. These stories are unrelated to Ferguson plc’s operations, earnings, or outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: One article suggests Sarah Ferguson may inherit part of a late ex’s fortune, while another reports on her longtime friend Paddy McNally’s death. These are personal-news items and are unlikely to affect investor sentiment toward Ferguson plc.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports about Sarah Ferguson keeping a low profile and her charity shutting down are likely to be ignored by investors in Ferguson plc (FERG) because they do not relate to the industrial distributor’s business performance.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zelman & Associates upgraded Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.21.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $230.36 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $207.64 and a 1-year high of $271.64. The company has a market cap of $44.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $229.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.45.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 38.81%. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.40%.

Ferguson announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.