Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Takes $2.69 Million Position in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new position in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 27,623 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $2,694,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned about 0.06% of Griffon at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Griffon by 149.6% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 352 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Griffon during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Griffon by 362.6% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 495 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $369,565.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,287,165.18. This trade represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 3,240 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.16, for a total transaction of $347,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 723,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,480,109.12. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 298,757 shares of company stock worth $29,818,460 in the last three months. 10.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Griffon Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of GFF stock opened at $101.47 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75. Griffon Corporation has a twelve month low of $65.01 and a twelve month high of $108.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.11. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89 and a beta of 1.44.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.17. Griffon had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 249.31%. The firm had revenue of $481.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $457.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. Griffon’s revenue was down 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 22.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GFF. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.50.

Griffon Company Profile

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon’s portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon’s Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.