Renaissance Technologies LLC Reduces Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 46.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 388,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 332,100 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Ferguson worth $67,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,137,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FERG shares. Bank of America raised Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.62.

Ferguson Trading Up 10.9 %

Shares of FERG stock opened at $164.22 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $32.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.94. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released 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). 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 for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 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.