First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Stock Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) by 31.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,646 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 25,050 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.11% of Griffon worth $3,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,125 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,451,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 538,200 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $38,358,000 after purchasing an additional 18,274 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 4.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 224,679 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $15,728,000 after buying an additional 9,417 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Griffon by 57.0% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 27,247 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,942,000 after acquiring an additional 9,896 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE:GFF traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $68.92. The stock had a trading volume of 130,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,331. Griffon Co. has a one year low of $55.01 and a one year high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.17.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.10. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Loop Capital raised Griffon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $97.20.

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.