OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Key Points

• OneDigital Investment Advisors acquired 9,848 Griffon shares worth approximately $960,000 during the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 73.22% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Griffon carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $122.50. The stock recently traded at $102.07, near its 52-week high of $108.57.
• Griffon exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.51 versus the $1.34 consensus and revenue of $481.37 million, although revenue fell 21.5% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 9,848 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $960,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,536,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Griffon by 41.4% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,002,513 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $73,835,000 after acquiring an additional 293,278 shares during the period. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in Griffon during the first quarter valued at $21,070,000. Voss Capital LP lifted its holdings in Griffon by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,760,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $129,624,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 166.4% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 324,553 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $24,715,000 after purchasing an additional 202,714 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GFF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, August 7th. 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 objective on Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on Griffon in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $122.50.

Insider Activity

In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total transaction of $318,360.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,187,738.68. The trade was a 9.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 3,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.16, for a total transaction of $347,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 723,032 shares in the company, valued at $77,480,109.12. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 298,757 shares of company stock valued at $29,818,460 in the last ninety days. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Griffon Stock Performance

NYSE GFF opened at $102.07 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $94.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.41. Griffon Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $65.01 and a fifty-two week high of $108.57.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.17. Griffon had a return on equity of 249.31% and a net margin of 8.08%.The business had revenue of $481.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $457.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

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

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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