Cibc World Markets Corp Acquires Shares of 3,518 Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,518 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Griffon by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 19,664 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $136,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Griffon by 93.1% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 1,810 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in Griffon by 178.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 20,009 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 12,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth about $43,325,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Trading Down 0.2 %

GFF stock opened at $74.32 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $74.32 and its 200 day moving average is $72.63. Griffon Co. has a 12-month low of $55.01 and a 12-month high of $86.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens raised their target price on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Loop Capital raised Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.