Ferguson plc Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.83 (NASDAQ:FERG)

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.83 per share on Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st.

Ferguson has a dividend payout ratio of 29.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Ferguson to earn $10.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.8%.

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $155.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,749,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,843,420. The business has a 50-day moving average of $176.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Ferguson has a 1 year low of $154.09 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The company has a market cap of $31.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ferguson will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on FERG. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Zelman & Associates lowered Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.64.

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.