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

D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,438 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $603,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 177,771 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Griffon by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 892,124 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $63,582,000 after buying an additional 236,179 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 93,100 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 159,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Griffon by 95,382.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 624,457 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $44,505,000 after acquiring an additional 623,803 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Griffon Trading Up 1.5%

Griffon stock traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $79.75. The stock had a trading volume of 335,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 411,779. Griffon Corporation has a one year low of $55.01 and a one year high of $86.73. 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 $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.14. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $71.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.93.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $611.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.23 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.