Allstate Corp Takes $1.04 Million Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,039,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Ferguson by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,230,000 after purchasing an additional 161,662 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,944,000 after buying an additional 3,198,477 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,409,000 after acquiring an additional 25,677 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,804,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,814,000 after acquiring an additional 192,052 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $469,730,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 price objective (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.67.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $160.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $152.52 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $173.86 and its 200-day moving average is $187.70. The firm has a market cap of $32.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

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.