Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Bought by Inspire Advisors LLC

Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,001 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 106,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,398,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 52,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,062,000 after buying an additional 18,072 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,102,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,403,000 after buying an additional 4,183 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 123,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,515,000 after buying an additional 8,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,678,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,277,000 after buying an additional 152,169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FERG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ferguson from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Ferguson from $234.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.73.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $157.54 on Wednesday. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $154.09 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $176.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.11. 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 firm has a market cap of $31.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Company 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.