RFG Advisory LLC Buys New Shares in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Key Points

• RFG Advisory LLC opened a new position in Griffon Corporation during the first quarter, buying 11,685 shares valued at about $849,000.
• Griffon reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $1.05 versus estimates of $0.99 and revenue of $421.86 million topping forecasts.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $115.

RFG Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 11,685 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $849,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GFF. Voss Capital LP increased its holdings in Griffon by 13.7% in the third quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,535,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $116,890,000 after purchasing an additional 185,000 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 396.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,088 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,867,000 after buying an additional 52,786 shares in the last quarter. MHR Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,519,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 97.4% during the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,258 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,849,000 after buying an additional 25,790 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 427,674 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $32,567,000 after acquiring an additional 25,681 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Trading Up 0.2%

GFF opened at $96.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.43. Griffon Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $65.01 and a fifty-two week high of $97.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 742.86 and a beta of 1.42. The company's 50-day moving average is $88.87 and its 200 day moving average is $82.87.

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

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Griffon's payout ratio is presently 676.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In other Griffon news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,784,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $169,365,471.24. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. 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 stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.02, for a total transaction of $755,965.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 790,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,889,599.04. This represents 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 have sold 124,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,874,898 in the last quarter. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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