Fmr LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Fmr LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 33.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,213 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,291 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned about 0.15% of Griffon worth $5,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Griffon by 109.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 63,122 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,419,000 after purchasing an additional 33,002 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 5.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 7.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 519,926 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $36,395,000 after buying an additional 34,525 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 44.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 25,871 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 7,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 229,497 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $16,065,000 after acquiring an additional 28,731 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GFF has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 23rd. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Griffon has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.25.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In other news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $415,564.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,306 shares in the company, valued at $3,561,316.28. This represents a 10.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 9,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.69, for a total transaction of $659,697.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 787,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,545,984.66. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 484,765 shares of company stock worth $35,496,152. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Griffon Trading Down 1.1 %

GFF opened at $79.00 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.48. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $52.04 and a 1-year high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.39.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.29. Griffon had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 108.70%. The company had revenue of $659.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is 17.02%.

Griffon announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Company 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.