MHR Fund Management LLC Purchases Shares of 125,000 Griffon Corporation $GFF

Key Points

• MHR Fund Management bought a new stake of 125,000 shares of Griffon (≈$9.52M), making the position the fund's 8th-largest at about 0.9% of its portfolio and representing roughly 0.27% of Griffon.
• Two insiders sold stock on Feb. 9: Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares (an 18.12% reduction) and SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares (an 11.13% reduction), totaling 18,070 shares.
• Griffon topped estimates with quarterly EPS of $1.45 vs. $1.34 and revenue of $649.1M vs. $618.4M, announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 (1.2% yield), and holds a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $103.50.

MHR Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 125,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $9,519,000. Griffon comprises approximately 0.9% of MHR Fund Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. MHR Fund Management LLC owned about 0.27% of Griffon at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GFF. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Griffon by 2,273.9% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 14,457 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 13,848 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 86,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $6,587,000 after buying an additional 8,773 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Griffon by 49.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 19,774 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,506,000 after buying an additional 6,542 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 172.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 78,286 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $5,962,000 after acquiring an additional 49,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 114.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,259 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 3,339 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In related news, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $295,180.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,333,792.80. This represents a 18.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total value of $1,431,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 119,747 shares in the company, valued at $11,428,653.68. This trade represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Griffon Price Performance

GFF stock opened at $72.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's fifty day moving average is $83.80 and its 200 day moving average is $78.16. Griffon Corporation has a 52 week low of $63.92 and a 52 week high of $97.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.55.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 228.83%. The business had revenue of $649.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Griffon's payout ratio is 95.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GFF. CJS Securities raised Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Stephens lifted their price target on Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 price objective on Griffon in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Griffon in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.50.

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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