LSV Asset Management Trims Stock Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

LSV Asset Management decreased its position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 789,195 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 46,500 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 1.66% of Griffon worth $56,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $5,335,000 after buying an additional 19,291 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its stake in Griffon by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,125 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $108,914,000 after acquiring an additional 61,210 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at $21,451,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 538,200 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $38,358,000 after purchasing an additional 18,274 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Griffon Trading Down 1.8 %

GFF traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.69. 166,519 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 434,211. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 1.26. Griffon Co. has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon's payout ratio 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.