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

Steamboat Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,943 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $1,065,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. Barclays PLC increased its position in Griffon by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 161,438 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $11,300,000 after purchasing an additional 32,427 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Griffon by 6.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,296 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,767 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 224,679 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $15,728,000 after acquiring an additional 9,417 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Griffon by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,729 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of GFF traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $67.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 68,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 398,023. Griffon Co. has a twelve month low of $55.01 and a twelve month high of $86.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.41.

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

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Griffon's payout ratio is 14.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on GFF shares. Stephens boosted their price objective on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average price target of $98.20.

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.