Alps Advisors Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF)

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Griffon by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 892,124 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $63,582,000 after purchasing an additional 236,179 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 15.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 674,520 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $48,073,000 after purchasing an additional 159,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Griffon by 95,382.7% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 624,457 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $44,505,000 after purchasing an additional 623,803 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Griffon in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $98.20.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of Griffon stock traded down $0.48 on Friday, reaching $77.06. 21,277 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 408,116. The firm's 50 day moving average is $71.98 and its 200-day moving average is $72.15. Griffon Corporation has a one year low of $55.01 and a one year high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.12, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.78. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.14.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $611.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.23 million. Griffon had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 114.46%. The firm's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Griffon's payout ratio is 14.91%.

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.