Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.12 EPS

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

Ferguson Trading Up 0.9 %

Ferguson stock traded up $1.80 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $207.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,297,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,180,887. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Ferguson has a twelve month low of $147.62 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $41.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.57.

Ferguson declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.