Aberdeen Group plc Sells 58,550 Shares of Griffon Corporation $GFF

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its holdings in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 28.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,187 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 58,550 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.32% of Griffon worth $11,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Griffon by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Griffon by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,680 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Griffon by 396.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,088 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,867,000 after purchasing an additional 52,786 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,280 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $72.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 78.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.36. Griffon Corporation has a 12 month low of $63.92 and a 12 month high of $97.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.43.

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

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Griffon’s payout ratio is 95.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GFF has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.67.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In other news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 119,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,428,653.68. This represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $295,180.50. Following the sale, the director owned 13,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,333,792.80. The trade was a 18.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 10.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Griffon

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.