Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Stock Holdings Lifted by Colonial River Investments LLC

Colonial River Investments LLC lifted its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,733 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Colonial River Investments LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 33.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,335,000 after acquiring an additional 19,291 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its position in shares of Griffon by 125.6% in the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 17,426 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 9,701 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Griffon by 4.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $108,914,000 after acquiring an additional 61,210 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the third quarter worth approximately $2,089,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Griffon by 21.4% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,907 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $24,423,000 after purchasing an additional 61,399 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE GFF opened at $72.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $75.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.51. Griffon Co. has a 12-month low of $55.01 and a 12-month high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the conglomerate to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In other news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $415,564.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,561,316.28. The trade was a 10.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,670 shares of company stock worth $1,038,035 over the last ninety days. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GFF. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital raised shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.75.

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.