Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Boosts Stock Holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 671.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 640 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Griffon were worth $39,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,952,411 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $236,132,000 after purchasing an additional 77,058 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Griffon by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,598,353 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $97,420,000 after purchasing an additional 289,208 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Griffon by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 529,181 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $32,254,000 after purchasing an additional 97,390 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in Griffon by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 221,700 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,795,000 after buying an additional 54,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Griffon during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,316,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $68.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.95 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.17. Griffon Co. has a 1 year low of $27.45 and a 1 year high of $75.18.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.29. Griffon had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 72.80%. The business had revenue of $643.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is 44.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on GFF. StockNews.com downgraded Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James boosted their price target on Griffon from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Griffon from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Griffon from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In related news, Director James W. Sight sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.38, for a total transaction of $134,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,269,641.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

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.