Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Stake Lowered by ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC

ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC lessened its stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 50,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 12,500 shares during the quarter. Griffon makes up 4.1% of ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $3,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 19,291 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI raised its holdings in Griffon by 125.6% in 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Griffon by 4.1% in 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 during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new stake in Griffon during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,089,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased 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 worth $24,423,000 after purchasing an additional 61,399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Performance

GFF stock opened at $76.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Griffon Co. has a 1 year low of $55.01 and a 1 year high of $86.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.53.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.29. Griffon had a return on equity of 108.70% and a net margin of 8.00%. The business had revenue of $659.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.24 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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 year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.02%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GFF shares. Stephens upped their price target on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $415,564.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,561,316.28. This trade represents a 10.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 241,757 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.35, for a total value of $18,216,389.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,860,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $140,207,211.10. This trade represents a 11.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 365,170 shares of company stock worth $27,178,746. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

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.