Southpoint Capital Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 100.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 600,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares during the quarter. Ferguson makes up approximately 2.3% of Southpoint Capital Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $96,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,168,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,071,408,000 after buying an additional 806,718 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Ferguson by 24.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,660,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,227,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,024 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,818,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,576,000 after acquiring an additional 827,355 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,935,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $856,746,000 after purchasing an additional 62,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Ferguson by 65.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,454,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $195.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ferguson from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $190.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.64.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $231.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $45.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $224.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.41. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $238.16.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

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.