Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $54.89 Million Stock Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 31.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 235,482 shares of the company’s stock after selling 105,688 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.12% of Ferguson worth $54,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,323,104,000 after buying an additional 102,850 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 150.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,085,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,554 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,981,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,331,621,000 after purchasing an additional 434,650 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,567,000 after purchasing an additional 79,296 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Ferguson by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,959,000 after purchasing an additional 25,785 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.21.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NYSE FERG opened at $229.04 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $230.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.41. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $207.64 and a 52-week high of $271.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.27 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.40%.

Ferguson announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Ferguson

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.