Quantbot Technologies LP Decreases Stock Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Quantbot Technologies LP reduced its holdings in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 98.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 448 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 23,449 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Griffon were worth $32,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Griffon by 86.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Griffon by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,729 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GFF shares. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital raised Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Griffon in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. 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, Griffon has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.20.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GFF opened at $73.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.92. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 1.40. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $55.01 and a twelve month high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. As a group, analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

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.