Edgestream Partners L.P. Invests $2.72 Million in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 42,537 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned 0.09% of Griffon at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GFF. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth approximately $315,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Griffon by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Griffon by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 522,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,861,000 after buying an additional 2,131 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,354,467 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $82,557,000 after buying an additional 30,710 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at $20,531,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GFF. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

Griffon Trading Up 0.5 %

Griffon stock opened at $67.93 on Thursday. Griffon Co. has a one year low of $38.33 and a one year high of $77.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $66.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Griffon Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $6,226,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,260,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,754,045.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.10, for a total transaction of $880,055.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 199,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,203,342.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $6,226,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,260,746 shares in the company, valued at $140,754,045.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 151,012 shares of company stock valued at $9,603,684. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

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.