D.A. Davidson & CO. Purchases New Position in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF)

D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,438 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $603,000.

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

Griffon Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of GFF traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $78.48. 62,033 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 410,612. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.12. Griffon Corporation has a 12-month low of $55.01 and a 12-month high of $86.73. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 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 business earned $1.35 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GFF. Wall Street Zen upgraded Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus target price 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.