Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Shares Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 228.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,704 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,934 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.12% of Griffon worth $3,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the second quarter worth $2,716,000. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in shares of Griffon by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 238,100 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,205,000 after acquiring an additional 13,400 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 631,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,350,000 after acquiring an additional 55,100 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Griffon by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,379,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $88,066,000 after acquiring an additional 19,644 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Griffon by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 87,675 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,403 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $69.80 on Wednesday. Griffon Co. has a one year low of $38.33 and a one year high of $77.99. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $66.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.33.

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

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other Griffon news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $809,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 50,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,275,350. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $339,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 198,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,899,970. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,275,350. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 209,251 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,297. 16.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.