Ritholtz Wealth Management Lowers Holdings in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF)

Ritholtz Wealth Management decreased its position in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 24.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,032 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 994 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Griffon were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 19.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,346 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,443,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Griffon by 153.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,718 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 1,644 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Griffon during the first quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Griffon by 0.4% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 111,834 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $7,996,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Griffon in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.20.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of GFF opened at $68.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.22. Griffon Corporation has a 12 month low of $55.01 and a 12 month high of $86.73. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.15.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.10. Griffon had a return on equity of 114.46% and a net margin of 9.06%. The firm had revenue of $611.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.91%.

Griffon 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.