Comerica Bank Increases Stock Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Comerica Bank raised its stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 102.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,298 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 15,860 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned 0.07% of Griffon worth $2,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Griffon by 343.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GFF. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stephens upped their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Loop Capital raised Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Griffon in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $98.20.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of Griffon stock traded down $0.10 on Wednesday, hitting $73.42. The stock had a trading volume of 93,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,435. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 1.17. The business's 50 day moving average is $69.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.11. Griffon Co. has a twelve month low of $55.01 and a twelve month high of $86.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.10. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. The business had revenue of $611.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.23 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.91%.

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.