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

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $211.59 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $204.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.95. Ferguson has a 52 week low of $147.62 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 34.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FERG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.57.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans 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.