Steamboat Capital Partners LLC Invests $1.07 Million in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Steamboat Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 14,943 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $1,065,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,375,843 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $454,406,000 after purchasing an additional 177,771 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 892,124 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $63,582,000 after purchasing an additional 236,179 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 700,351 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $49,914,000 after purchasing an additional 93,100 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 674,520 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $48,073,000 after purchasing an additional 159,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Griffon by 95,382.7% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 624,457 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $44,505,000 after buying an additional 623,803 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Griffon Stock Down 3.6%

Griffon stock traded down $2.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.21. The stock had a trading volume of 413,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,668. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.42. Griffon Co. has a one year low of $55.01 and a one year high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $611.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $618.23 million. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GFF shares. StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $98.20.

Griffon Company 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.