PFS Partners LLC Trims Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

PFS Partners LLC reduced its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 375 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 375 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Griffon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Griffon by 1,024.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Griffon by 86.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $73.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48 and a beta of 1.43. Griffon Co. has a one year low of $55.01 and a one year high of $86.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.66.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $659.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.24 million. Griffon had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 108.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the conglomerate to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.02%.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In other news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $415,564.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,561,316.28. This represents a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 67,164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total value of $4,706,853.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,102,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,343,410.24. This represents a 3.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 365,170 shares of company stock valued at $27,178,746. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on GFF. StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, November 14th.

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.