Algert Global LLC Buys 56,484 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 45.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 181,635 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 56,484 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC owned 0.38% of Griffon worth $12,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GFF. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Griffon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Griffon in the fourth quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Griffon by 343.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GFF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Griffon has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In other 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 10.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Griffon Trading Up 2.9 %

GFF opened at $71.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $69.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.85. Griffon Co. has a one year low of $55.01 and a one year high of $86.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.26.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.69%.

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.

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