Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires 80,298 Shares of Griffon Corporation $GFF

Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 727.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 91,341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,298 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $6,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GFF. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Griffon by 645.0% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 447 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Griffon in the second quarter worth $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Griffon by 33.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in Griffon by 43.4% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 539 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Griffon during the first quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In related news, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $295,180.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,333,792.80. This represents a 18.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total transaction of $1,431,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 119,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,428,653.68. This trade represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 10.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.67.

Griffon Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of GFF opened at $88.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.36. Griffon Corporation has a 12-month low of $65.01 and a 12-month high of $97.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.59.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 228.83%. The firm had revenue of $649.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Griffon Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is 95.65%.

About Griffon

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.