Alps Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF)

Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,090 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $364,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 116.1% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 376 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $136,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Griffon by 153.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,718 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 1,644 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of Griffon stock traded down $0.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $76.97. 249,859 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 409,030. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's fifty day moving average is $72.15 and its 200-day moving average is $72.18. Griffon Corporation has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week 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. Griffon had a return on equity of 114.46% and a net margin of 9.06%. The firm had revenue of $611.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.23 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial reissued 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.20.

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.