Strs Ohio Boosts Stock Holdings in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Key Points

• Strs Ohio boosted its Griffon stake by 14,100%, buying an additional 28,200 shares in Q4 to hold 28,400 shares worth $2,092,000 (about 0.06% of the company).
• Other institutions also increased positions—most notably Voss Capital now owns 1,535,000 shares (~$116.9M)—and institutional ownership stands at 73.22%.
• Analysts are mixed but show a consensus “Moderate Buy” with a $107.67 target after a recent earnings beat; the stock trades near $91 with a high P/E (~99), market cap ~$4.24B, and a 1.0% dividend yield (95.7% payout ratio).

Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 14,100.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,400 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 28,200 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned about 0.06% of Griffon worth $2,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Voss Capital LP lifted its holdings in Griffon by 13.7% during the third quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,535,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $116,890,000 after buying an additional 185,000 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 719,046 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $52,037,000 after acquiring an additional 51,354 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 45.7% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 430,209 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $32,760,000 after acquiring an additional 134,987 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Griffon by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 427,674 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $32,567,000 after acquiring an additional 25,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 330,697 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $25,183,000 after purchasing an additional 47,108 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GFF shares. Zacks Research downgraded Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.67.

Griffon Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $91.07 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $79.69 and its 200 day moving average is $78.85. 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 has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.46.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $649.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.35 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 228.83% and a net margin of 1.76%.The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Griffon 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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