Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Purchases 39,355 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 50.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,985 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 39,355 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned 0.25% of Griffon worth $8,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Griffon during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Griffon by 343.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Griffon Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:GFF traded up $1.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.92. 146,283 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 440,970. The stock has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.10. Griffon Co. has a 12-month low of $55.01 and a 12-month high of $86.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44.

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

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GFF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital raised shares of Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.20.

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.