Brokers Issue Forecasts for Ferguson plc’s Q1 2025 Earnings (NASDAQ:FERG)

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) – Equities researchers at William Blair reduced their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Ferguson in a research report issued on Tuesday, September 17th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.70 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.89. The consensus estimate for Ferguson’s current full-year earnings is $9.63 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Ferguson’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.81 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.35 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.04 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $11.71 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on FERG. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. 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 report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.57.

Ferguson Stock Down 5.6 %

Ferguson stock opened at $196.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $39.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Ferguson has a fifty-two week low of $147.62 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $204.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.95.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson in the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Ferguson by 538.1% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Ferguson by 2,462.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 34.54%.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management 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.