Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Position in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its Q4 stake in Griffon by 0.5% to 5,855,976 shares—about 12.57% ownership valued at $431.3M—while institutions own 73.22% of the stock and insiders hold 10.20% with recent sales by Director James W. Sight and SVP Seth L. Kaplan.
• Griffon beat expectations with $1.45 EPS (vs. $1.34) and $649.1M in revenue for the quarter, trades near $91, has a consensus analyst target of $107.67, and pays a $0.22 quarterly dividend (1.0% yield) with a high payout ratio of 95.65%.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,855,976 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 31,264 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.57% of Griffon worth $431,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voss Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 185,000 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 2,273.9% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 14,457 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 13,848 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Griffon by 396.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,088 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $4,867,000 after buying an additional 52,786 shares in the last quarter. MHR Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 3rd quarter valued at $9,519,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 86,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $6,587,000 after acquiring an additional 8,773 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Griffon news, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $295,180.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,333,792.80. This represents a 18.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Griffon Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE GFF opened at $91.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 98.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.46. Griffon Corporation has a 1-year low of $65.01 and a 1-year high of $97.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.69 and a 200-day moving average of $78.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 228.83% and a net margin of 1.76%.The business had revenue of $649.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.35 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. Griffon's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Griffon Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Griffon's payout ratio is presently 95.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GFF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 target price on Griffon in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Stephens upped their price objective on Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research cut Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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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