Gabelli Funds LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 346,300 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 32,500 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.70% of Griffon worth $22,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GFF. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Griffon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 65.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 842 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the 1st quarter worth $65,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the second quarter worth $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $67.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.91 and a beta of 1.29. Griffon Co. has a 52-week low of $38.33 and a 52-week high of $77.99.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.94 million. Griffon had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 96.05%. The company’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GFF has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.