Primecap Management Co. CA Raises Stock Holdings in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. increased its stake in Griffon Corporation by 15.4%, owning approximately 275,200 shares valued at about $19.7 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Research analysts have been optimistic about Griffon, with three analysts rating it as a "strong buy" and raising the price target to $100 from $92.
• Griffon recently declared a $0.18 quarterly dividend with an annualized yield of 1.1%, set to be paid on September 16th to shareholders recorded by August 29th.

Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 15.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 275,200 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 36,800 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.57% of Griffon worth $19,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GFF. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Griffon by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,977 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth about $1,587,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 59,704 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,255,000 after acquiring an additional 4,251 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 101,243 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $7,216,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Price Performance

GFF stock traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.70. 108,581 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 393,798. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.58, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.63. Griffon Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.98 and a 12 month high of $86.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.56, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The conglomerate reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Griffon had a return on equity of 144.21% and a net margin of 2.78%. The company had revenue of $613.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. Griffon's revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Griffon's payout ratio is 53.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GFF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $98.20.

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.