OLD National Bancorp IN Makes New Investment in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 146.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 2,291.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FERG. Raymond James cut Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.50.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $213.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.80. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $134.55 and a 52-week high of $224.86.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.74%.

Ferguson 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.