Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 5,069 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,700 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 5,069 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.08% of Griffon worth $2,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 343.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 86.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,452 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,729 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital raised Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $98.75.

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Griffon Stock Performance

Griffon stock traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $71.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 532,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,306. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 1.40. 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.87.

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

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total transaction of $242,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 10.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.