Bessemer Group Inc. Raises Position in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Griffon Corporation by 68.1% in the first quarter, ending with 391,441 shares worth about $28.45 million.
• Griffon’s executives were also sellers recently: CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares and COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 7,873 shares, with insiders selling a total of 129,389 shares over the past three months.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.05 per share on revenue of $421.86 million, though revenue fell 31% year over year; shares were down 2.2% and analysts’ consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with a $115 price target.

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 68.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 391,441 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 158,592 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.84% of Griffon worth $28,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Voss Capital LP raised its position in Griffon by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,760,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $129,624,000 after buying an additional 225,000 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Griffon by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,535,473 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $113,088,000 after acquiring an additional 11,169 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,002,513 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $73,835,000 after acquiring an additional 293,278 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 867,195 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $63,869,000 after acquiring an additional 79,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 7.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 719,046 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $52,037,000 after purchasing an additional 51,354 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.92, for a total transaction of $9,492,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,784,297 shares in the company, valued at $169,365,471.24. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 7,873 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.02, for a total transaction of $755,965.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 790,352 shares in the company, valued at $75,889,599.04. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 129,389 shares of company stock valued at $12,309,525 over the last three months. Insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Griffon Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE GFF opened at $91.53 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $89.47 and its 200-day moving average is $84.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 704.09 and a beta of 1.41. Griffon Corporation has a one year low of $65.01 and a one year high of $98.36.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $421.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.63 million. Griffon had a net margin of 0.31% and a return on equity of 298.42%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is currently 676.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GFF shares. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Griffon from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Griffon from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.00.

Griffon Company Profile

Griffon Corporation NYSE: GFF is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon's portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon's Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.

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