Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Purchases 386,403 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 27.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,799,055 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 386,403 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned 0.90% of Ferguson worth $312,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ferguson by 906.7% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1,350.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $155.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $176.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.62. The firm has a market cap of $31.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $152.52 and a 12 month high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FERG shares. Bank of America raised Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price target for the company. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.64.

About Ferguson

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.