Algert Global LLC Has $8.76 Million Stock Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Algert Global LLC cut its holdings in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 2.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 125,151 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,719 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $8,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Griffon in the first quarter valued at approximately $557,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $432,954,000 after purchasing an additional 38,707 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 228.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 61,704 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 42,934 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 659.0% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 26,452 shares during the period. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its holdings in Griffon by 125.6% in the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 17,426 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after purchasing an additional 9,701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 4.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 9,222 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.50, for a total value of $696,261.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 41,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,108,184. This represents a 18.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 603,517 shares of company stock valued at $42,818,506. 16.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE GFF opened at $82.98 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $45.70 and a 52-week high of $83.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 1.31.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $641.24 million. Griffon had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 108.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the conglomerate to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.25.

Griffon Company 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.