William Blair Issues Negative Forecast for Ferguson Earnings

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) - William Blair lowered their FY2026 earnings estimates for Ferguson in a report issued on Tuesday, December 10th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now forecasts that the company will earn $10.80 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $11.71. The consensus estimate for Ferguson's current full-year earnings is $9.59 per share.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on FERG. 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 report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $219.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.00.

Ferguson Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Ferguson stock traded down $3.15 on Friday, reaching $187.20. 722,989 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,309,309. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $203.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.46. The company has a market cap of $37.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.21. Ferguson has a 1-year low of $183.63 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the company's stock worth $657,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company's stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the company's stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 33.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 4.1% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,047,246. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is a boost from Ferguson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.94%.

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.