Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 57.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,247 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 9,896 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Griffon worth $1,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial River Investments LLC increased its position in Griffon by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 5,733 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 14,120 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 1,462 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,678,000 after buying an additional 6,125 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at about $276,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 228,792 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $16,306,000 after acquiring an additional 4,113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.
Griffon Trading Down 0.5 %
Shares of GFF traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $69.37. 276,596 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 329,538. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $74.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 1.43. Griffon Co. has a 12-month low of $55.01 and a 12-month high of $86.73.
Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.
Griffon announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Griffon Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.69%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $415,564.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,561,316.28. This trade represents a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.75.
Read Our Latest Analysis on GFF
About Griffon
(
Free Report)
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.
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