Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Boosts Stake in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 97,146 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 10,646 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.21% of Griffon worth $7,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GFF. Voss Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,535,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $116,890,000 after acquiring an additional 185,000 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 2,273.9% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 14,457 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 13,848 shares during the period. MHR Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,519,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 396.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,088 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $4,867,000 after acquiring an additional 52,786 shares during the period. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 97.4% in the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,258 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 25,790 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of GFF stock opened at $94.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.39. Griffon Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $65.01 and a fifty-two week high of $97.58.

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

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Griffon's payout ratio is 95.65%.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other Griffon news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total transaction of $1,431,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 119,747 shares in the company, valued at $11,428,653.68. The trade was a 11.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $295,180.50. Following 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. Insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GFF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Griffon presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.67.

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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