First Hawaiian Bank Buys 303 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

First Hawaiian Bank increased its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 15.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,274 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $364,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at $5,476,000. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 614.7% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 41,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,129,000 after purchasing an additional 35,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $339,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $189.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.15.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $182.43 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $225.63. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.70. The company has a market cap of $36.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.84%.

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.