Barclays PLC Purchases 30,692 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Barclays PLC grew its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 192,130 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 30,692 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.40% of Griffon worth $13,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GFF. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Griffon during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 343.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Griffon Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Griffon stock traded up $1.22 during trading on Thursday, hitting $67.10. 462,911 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 440,809. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $70.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $55.01 and a 1-year high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total transaction of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Griffon 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.