Everence Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Everence Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,610 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Griffon were worth $257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GFF. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position 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 valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,913 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,011 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Griffon by 2.2% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 14,562 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Griffon by 3.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,074 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other Griffon news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 6,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.06, for a total value of $457,631.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,169,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,006,870.02. This trade represents a 0.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $415,564.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,561,316.28. The trade was a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 372,614 shares of company stock valued at $27,700,272. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Down 2.2 %

GFF opened at $70.65 on Wednesday. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $55.01 and a 12 month high of $86.73. The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.05 and a 200 day moving average of $69.39.

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

Griffon Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.02%.

Griffon declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.