Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Sells 300 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,293 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Griffon were worth $662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 86.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,729 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,880 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $3,561,316.28. This trade represents a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at $2,482,984. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE GFF opened at $72.25 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.92 and a 200-day moving average of $71.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 1.43. Griffon Co. has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.51.

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

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

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on GFF shares. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital raised Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens raised their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.75.

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.