Norges Bank Invests $21.45 Million in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 300,985 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $21,451,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.63% of Griffon at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 33.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $5,335,000 after purchasing an additional 19,291 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in Griffon by 86.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,452 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Griffon by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $108,914,000 after buying an additional 61,210 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,907 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $24,423,000 after acquiring an additional 61,399 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 11.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 16,301 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total transaction of $242,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GFF shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $97.20.

Griffon Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GFF traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.57. The company had a trading volume of 307,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 434,188. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 1.26. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $55.01 and a 1-year high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. Research analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.69%.

Griffon Company Profile

Griffon Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides consumer and professional, and home and building products in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Home and Building Products, and Consumer and Professional Products. The Home and Building Products segment manufactures and markets residential and commercial sectional garage doors, rolling steel service doors, fire doors, shutters, steel security grilles, and room dividers for the use in commercial construction and repair, and home remodeling applications.