US/Europe Event-Driven Analyst

John DeMasi

CFA, CPA (New York State, status: inactive) with 20+ years on buyside (PM & analyst) at numerous hedge funds and proprietary trading desks in NYC and London, covering North American and European event driven investments.

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Event-Driven

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ferguson-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28304:1" rel="noopener">Ferguson PLC (FERG LN)</a> is a UK-listed, FTSE 100 distributor of plumbing and heating products in the USA, Canada, and the UK. In the latest fiscal year ended July 31, 2019, the UK accounted for only about 10.2% of revenues and about 4% of trading profits, with the balance coming mainly from the USA, and to a much smaller extent, from Canada.Despite the Company’s predominant focus in the USA, it has traditionally traded at the more modest multiples of British distributors. On June 13, 2019, U.S. activist investment firm Trian Fund Management announced it had acquired a 5.98% position in FERG LN though affiliates including T1F LN, then worth approximately £736 million.Trian stated it believes Ferguson is an attractive business that trades at a discount to comparable U.S. peers. It also said it looks forward to working with Ferguson’s management to explore and implement initiatives that it believes can create long-term shareholder value.This research piece looks, from an event-driven point of view, at Ferguson’s business, valuation and potential catalyst to address any undervaluation.

Ferguson PLC (FERG LN) is a UK-listed, FTSE 100 distributor of plumbing and heating products in the USA, Canada, and the UK. In the latest fiscal year ended July 31, 2019, the UK accounted for only about 10.2% of revenues and about 4% of trading profits, with the balance coming mainly from the USA, and to a much smaller extent, from Canada.Despite the Company’s predominant focus in the USA, it has traditionally traded at the more modest multiples of British distributors. On June 13, 2019, U.S. activist investment firm Trian Fund Management announced it had acquired a 5.98% position in FERG LN though affiliates including T1F LN, then worth approximately £736 million.Trian stated it believes Ferguson is an attractive business that trades at a discount to comparable U.S. peers. It also said it looks forward to working with Ferguson’s management to explore and implement initiatives that it believes can create long-term shareholder value.This research piece looks, from an event-driven point of view, at Ferguson’s business, valuation and potential catalyst to address any undervaluation.

Ferguson Plc (FERG LN) – Plumbing for Value