AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,937 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 8,707 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.18% of Griffon worth $6,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 343.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GFF opened at $67.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.51. Griffon Co. has a one year low of $55.01 and a one year high of $86.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.17. The company's fifty day moving average is $69.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.85.

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

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.

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