Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 17,400 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,265,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Griffon by 41.3% in the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 647 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,325 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter worth approximately $849,000. OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at $1,547,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 77.2% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 117,092 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,510,000 after buying an additional 51,004 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $92.74 on Friday. Griffon Corporation has a 1-year low of $65.01 and a 1-year high of $98.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.43. The stock has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 713.45 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $89.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.48.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.06. Griffon had a net margin of 0.31% and a return on equity of 298.42%. The business had revenue of $421.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $414.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Griffon’s payout ratio is 676.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.00.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 4,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.76, for a total value of $407,268.16. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 785,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,829,584. The trade was a 0.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.92, for a total value of $9,492,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,784,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,365,471.24. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,389 shares of company stock valued at $12,309,525. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.