Lodge Hill Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Lodge Hill Capital LLC raised its stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 190.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 251,700 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 165,000 shares during the period. Griffon accounts for approximately 4.3% of Lodge Hill Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Lodge Hill Capital LLC owned about 0.51% of Griffon worth $16,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 65.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 842 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the second quarter worth $55,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 1st quarter worth $65,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Griffon during the 2nd quarter worth $70,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $67.88 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.35. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $38.33 and a 1-year high of $77.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.94 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 96.05% and a net margin of 7.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s payout ratio is 15.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $809,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 50,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,275,350. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $339,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 198,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,899,970. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $809,055.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,275,350. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 168,799 shares of company stock worth $10,825,347 over the last three months. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

Griffon Profile

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.