62,500 Shares in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Acquired by Crestline Management LP

Crestline Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 62,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $4,454,000. Crestline Management LP owned 0.13% of Griffon as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,375,843 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $454,406,000 after purchasing an additional 177,771 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Griffon by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 892,124 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $63,582,000 after purchasing an additional 236,179 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 700,351 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $49,914,000 after purchasing an additional 93,100 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 95,382.7% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 624,457 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $44,505,000 after purchasing an additional 623,803 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth about $43,325,000. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Griffon Stock Down 3.4 %

NYSE:GFF traded down $2.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 422,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,920. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.97. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 1.17. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $55.01 and a 12 month high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $611.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $618.23 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GFF shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Stephens boosted their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Loop Capital raised Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.20.

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.