Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI Grows Stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 35.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,125 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI’s holdings in Griffon were worth $1,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Griffon by 1,024.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Griffon by 86.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Griffon by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,729 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $415,564.60. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,670 shares of company stock worth $1,038,035. 10.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens increased their target price on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.75.

Griffon Price Performance

GFF stock opened at $75.03 on Friday. Griffon Co. has a 52-week low of $55.01 and a 52-week high of $86.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.34. 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 $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 1.43.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. Equities research analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the conglomerate to purchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s payout ratio is currently 14.69%.

About Griffon

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.