Sanctuary Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Key Points

• Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Griffon by 727.1% in Q4 to 91,341 shares, representing about 0.20% of the company and worth roughly $6.73 million.
• Insider selling occurred: Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares at about $96.15 and SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares at about $95.44, cutting their stakes by ~18.1% and ~11.1%, respectively.
• Griffon beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.45 vs. $1.34; revenue $649.1M vs. $618.3M) but faces mixed analyst views and a high P/E (~96.5); MarketBeat's consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $107.67.

Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 727.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,341 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 80,298 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC owned about 0.20% of Griffon worth $6,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 645.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 447 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 539 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GFF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.67.

Griffon Trading Down 3.6%

Griffon stock opened at $88.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.48, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Griffon Corporation has a 1 year low of $65.01 and a 1 year high of $97.58. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $79.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.59.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $649.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $618.35 million. Griffon had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 228.83%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.65%.

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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