Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 57.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,247 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,896 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Griffon worth $1,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the third quarter worth $502,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Griffon by 5.9% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 19,800 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Griffon by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 23,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Griffon in the 3rd quarter valued at about $222,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Griffon by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,880 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $415,564.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,306 shares in the company, valued at $3,561,316.28. This represents a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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. Stephens lifted their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.75.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $72.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. Griffon Co. has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $86.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $74.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.79.

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

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Griffon’s payout ratio is currently 14.69%.

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.