UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,271 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 12,988 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Griffon worth $5,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Griffon by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,934 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its position in shares of Griffon by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Griffon by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,977 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC grew its stake in Griffon by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 5,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Griffon by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,701 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GFF shares. Loop Capital raised Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Griffon has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $98.20.

Griffon Stock Up 0.4%

Griffon stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.47. The stock had a trading volume of 221,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 439,518. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.51. Griffon Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.01 and a fifty-two week high of $86.73. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $69.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Griffon's payout ratio is 14.91%.

About Griffon

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.