Legal & General Group Plc Takes $8.97 Million Position in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 91,979 Griffon shares worth approximately $8.97 million, giving it a 0.20% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 73.22% of Griffon.
• Griffon beat quarterly expectations with adjusted earnings of $1.51 per share versus the $1.34 consensus and revenue of $481.37 million, though revenue declined 21.5% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equivalent to $0.88 annually and a 0.9% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $122.50, compared with a recent share price of $94.62.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 91,979 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $8,971,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.20% of Griffon at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Griffon by 149.6% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 352 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the first quarter worth $29,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 362.6% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 495 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $94.62 on Wednesday. Griffon Corporation has a twelve month low of $65.01 and a twelve month high of $108.57. The stock's 50 day moving average is $95.93 and its 200-day moving average is $87.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.14 and a beta of 1.45.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.17. Griffon had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 249.31%. The company had revenue of $481.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $457.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Griffon Corporation will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GFF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 22,209 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.08, for a total value of $2,267,094.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 763,691 shares in the company, valued at $77,957,577.28. This represents a 2.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $169,365,471.24. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 298,757 shares of company stock worth $29,818,460 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

About Griffon

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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