Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.12 EPS

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12, Briefing.com reports. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.77 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG traded up $2.37 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $207.89. 736,711 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,177,787. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ferguson has a one year low of $147.62 and a one year high of $225.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.95.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 34.54%.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FERG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.57.

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.