Do You Believe in the Long-Term Value of Ferguson plc (FERG)?

Madison Funds, managed by Madison Investment Management, released the “Madison Investors Fund” fourth-quarter 2022 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the fourth quarter, the fund returned 10.2% compared to the 7.6% return for the S&P 500 Index. For the calendar year, the fund declined 13.2% compared to a -18.1% fall for the S&P 500 Index. In the quarter, the Consumer Discretionary sector was the largest positive contributor to the fund’s performance. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2022.

Madison Funds highlighted stocks like Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) in the fourth quarter 2022 investor letter. Headquartered in Wokingham, the United Kingdom, Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) is a plumbing and heating products distributing company. On January 12, 2023, Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) stock closed at $138.52 per share. One-month return of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) was 9.38%, and its shares lost 21.04% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) has a market capitalization of $28.706 billion.

Madison Funds made the following comment about Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) in its fourth quarter 2022 investor letter:

“During the quarter, we initiated a new position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG). There were no portfolio eliminations. Ferguson Plc is a well-managed distributor of plumbing and HVAC equipment. Over the last decade, the company has improved its business by divesting lower-quality international operations such that they are now exclusively focused on the core North American market. We are excited about this portfolio transformation because they have a long history of generating solid revenue growth and profits in North America. Furthermore, Ferguson is not resting on their laurels. They are investing in digital tools and a national network of stores and distribution centers to provide bestin-class product selection and delivery times for customers. We believe these investments will lead to further share gains and above market growth. While higher interest rates will undoubtedly continue to negatively impact housing activity in the near term, these concerns enabled us to initiate a position at an attractive discount to our appraisal value of the company’s long-term value.”

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Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) is not on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Per our database, 42 hedge fund portfolios held Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) at the end of the third quarter, and 32 in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2022 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.