Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $7.20 Million Holdings in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB reduced its stake in Griffon Corporation by 38.9%, selling 64,200 shares and leaving them with 100,734 shares valued at approximately $7.2 million.
• Griffon Corporation has received multiple positive analyst ratings, with a "Strong Buy" consensus and an average price target of $98.20, reflecting market optimism.
• The company recently reported strong earnings, posting an EPS of $1.23, beating analysts' expectations, despite a 9.1% drop in revenue year-over-year.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its holdings in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 38.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 100,734 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 64,200 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned 0.21% of Griffon worth $7,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 116.1% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 376 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Griffon by 72.9% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 555 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Griffon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Griffon by 26.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GFF shares. Wall Street Zen raised Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $98.20.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE:GFF traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $80.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 85,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,740. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.61 and a 200-day moving average of $72.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.14. Griffon Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $55.01 and a fifty-two week high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $611.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.23 million. Griffon had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 114.46%. The company's revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Griffon's payout ratio is presently 14.91%.

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.