Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,600 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 14,400 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.26% of Griffon worth $8,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 116.1% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 376 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Griffon during the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Griffon by 343.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $136,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GFF traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.33. 243,726 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 435,359. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.49. Griffon Co. has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. The company had revenue of $611.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GFF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average price target of $98.20.

Griffon Company 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.