Allianz Asset Management GmbH Makes New Investment in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,418 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $489,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,040 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Griffon by 33.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 43.4% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 539 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,329 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on GFF. Zacks Research upgraded Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, February 6th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.50.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $93.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36. Griffon Corporation has a 1-year low of $63.92 and a 1-year high of $97.58. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $80.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.12.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 228.83%. The business had revenue of $649.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Griffon’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.65%.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In other news, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $295,180.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,333,792.80. The trade was a 18.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total transaction of $1,431,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 119,747 shares in the company, valued at $11,428,653.68. The trade was a 11.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 10.20% of the stock is currently 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.