K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Makes New $1.51 Million Investment in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 7,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,506,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 146.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 150.0% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $213.33. The stock had a trading volume of 944,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,418. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.42. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $134.55 and a one year high of $224.86. The firm has a market cap of $43.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.08). Ferguson had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 37.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James lowered shares of Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.50.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.