Stifel Financial Corp Reduces Holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Stifel Financial Corp reduced its stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 88.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,732 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 54,086 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in Griffon were worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GFF. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 98.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Griffon during the second quarter worth $55,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Griffon during the 2nd quarter valued at $70,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 56.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 1,024.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GFF traded down $1.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.85. The stock had a trading volume of 452,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 388,015. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.66. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $55.01 and a 1-year high of $86.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.99 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.04.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.29. Griffon had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 108.70%. The firm had revenue of $659.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Griffon's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the conglomerate to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Griffon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 912 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.06, for a total value of $63,894.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 746,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,307,566.66. This trade represents a 0.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 3,121 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $218,470.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,178,320 shares in the company, valued at $152,482,400. The trade was a 0.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 376,119 shares of company stock valued at $27,945,644 in the last quarter. Insiders own 16.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens increased their price target on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.25.

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.