Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 9,296 Shares of Griffon Corporation $GFF

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,701 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 9,296 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.06% of Griffon worth $2,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GFF. Voss Capital LP lifted its position in Griffon by 1.3% in the second quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,350,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $97,700,000 after buying an additional 17,949 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 7.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 719,046 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $52,037,000 after acquiring an additional 51,354 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 554,431 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,068,000 after acquiring an additional 4,091 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 295,657 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $21,397,000 after purchasing an additional 101,246 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 295,222 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $21,365,000 after purchasing an additional 12,385 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GFF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. CJS Securities raised Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Stephens increased their target price on Griffon from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $95.60.

Griffon Trading Down 2.0%

GFF opened at $75.14 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $74.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.14, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.28. Griffon Corporation has a 52 week low of $63.92 and a 52 week high of $84.24.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The conglomerate reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $662.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.47 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 181.66% and a net margin of 2.03%.Griffon’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. Analysts forecast that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.00%.

Griffon 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.