Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $13.90 Million Stock Position in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its stake in Griffon Corporation by 17.5% in the first quarter, but still held 191,262 shares valued at about $13.9 million.
• Griffon’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $1.05 versus the $0.99 consensus and revenue of $421.86 million topping estimates, though revenue fell 31% year over year.
• Analysts currently view Griffon as a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $115, while recent insider activity included share sales by CEO Ronald J. Kramer and COO Robert F. Mehmel.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 17.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 191,262 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 40,675 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.41% of Griffon worth $13,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Griffon by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,955 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $6,790,000 after buying an additional 15,925 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,447 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,676,000 after acquiring an additional 2,047 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Griffon during the first quarter worth $49,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Griffon by 21.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 85,035 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $6,080,000 after acquiring an additional 14,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Griffon in the first quarter worth $57,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GFF shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Griffon from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 target price on Griffon in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Griffon from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.00.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of GFF stock opened at $88.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.03. Griffon Corporation has a 12 month low of $65.01 and a 12 month high of $98.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 683.93 and a beta of 1.41.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $421.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.63 million. Griffon had a net margin of 0.31% and a return on equity of 298.42%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Griffon's payout ratio is currently 676.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In related news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.92, for a total value of $9,492,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,784,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $169,365,471.24. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 7,873 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.02, for a total value of $755,965.46. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 790,352 shares in the company, valued at $75,889,599.04. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their position. 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 sold 129,389 shares of company stock valued at $12,309,525 over the last quarter. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Griffon Company Profile

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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