Avalon Trust Co Makes New Investment in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its position in Ferguson by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 17,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,847,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Raymond James downgraded Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.50.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FERG traded up $3.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $217.17. 836,882 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,146,346. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.80. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $137.12 and a one year high of $224.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $213.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.40. The company has a market cap of $44.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 1.27.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 36.74%.

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.