Griffon Corporation $GFF Stock Position Boosted by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 37,205 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.37% of Griffon worth $12,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 15.8% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,040 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 539 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 11.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,329 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GFF shares. Stephens lifted their target price on Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, CJS Securities raised Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 119,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,428,653.68. This represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Performance

Griffon stock opened at $93.52 on Monday. Griffon Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $63.92 and a fifty-two week high of $97.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.33.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 228.83%. The business had revenue of $649.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Griffon’s payout ratio is currently 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.