Rock Creek Group LP Grows Stock Position in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Rock Creek Group LP boosted its position in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 257.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 90,000 shares during the quarter. Griffon makes up about 1.0% of Rock Creek Group LP’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Rock Creek Group LP’s holdings in Griffon were worth $9,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GFF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Griffon by 149.6% in the fourth 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. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Griffon by 645.0% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 447 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the second quarter valued at $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 33.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Griffon by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 585 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GFF shares. Stephens lifted their price target on Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 price target on Griffon in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $88.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 679.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.46. Griffon Corporation has a 52-week low of $65.01 and a 52-week high of $97.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.14 and a 200 day moving average of $80.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $421.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.63 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 298.42% and a net margin of 0.31%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 676.92%.

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.