Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Shares Purchased by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 57.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,247 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,896 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $1,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 33.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,335,000 after buying an additional 19,291 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its holdings in Griffon by 125.6% during the 3rd 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 grew its holdings in Griffon by 4.1% during the 3rd 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 stake in shares of Griffon in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,089,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 21.4% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Up 1.1 %

GFF opened at $72.25 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.79. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $55.01 and a 12 month high of $86.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 1.43. 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 (NYSE:GFF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to purchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,561,316.28. The trade was a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $98.75.

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.