Griffon (NYSE:GFF) and First Pacific (OTCMKTS:FPAFY) Critical Comparison

First Pacific (OTCMKTS:FPAFY) and Griffon (NYSE:GFF) are both mid-cap multi-sector conglomerates companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares First Pacific and Griffon’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Pacific	N/A	N/A	N/A
Griffon	2.03%	181.66%	11.95%

Dividends

First Pacific pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Griffon pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Griffon pays out 88.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Griffon has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Pacific and Griffon”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Pacific	$10.06 billion	0.31	$600.30 million	N/A	N/A
Griffon	$2.52 billion	1.41	$51.11 million	$1.00	77.06

First Pacific has higher revenue and earnings than Griffon.

Risk & Volatility

First Pacific has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Griffon has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.0% of First Pacific shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.2% of Griffon shares are held by institutional investors. 10.2% of Griffon shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for First Pacific and Griffon, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Pacific	0	0	0	0	0.00
Griffon	1	1	3	2	2.86

Griffon has a consensus price target of $95.60, indicating a potential upside of 24.05%. Given Griffon’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Griffon is more favorable than First Pacific.

Summary

Griffon beats First Pacific on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Pacific

First Pacific Company Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the consumer food products, telecommunications, infrastructure, and natural resources businesses in the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. The company offers a range of telecommunications and digital services, including fiber optic backbone, and fixed line and cellular networks. It also manufactures and distributes a range of food products, including noodles, dairy products, snack foods, food seasonings, nutrition and special foods, beverages, wheat flour, and pasta; breeds seeds; cultivates oil palm, rubber, sugar cane, and other crops; and offers cooking oils, margarines, and shortenings. In addition, the company explores for, mines, and produces gold, copper, and silver; and produces sugar and bioethanol. Further, it is involved in the operation of gas-fired power plant; provision of water distribution, sewerage, and sanitation services; and operation of toll roads and rails, as well as distribution of electricity. First Pacific Company Limited was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Central, Hong Kong.

About Griffon

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. The segment also sells related products, such as garage door openers. The Consumer and Professional Products segment manufactures and markets long-handled engineered tools, including spades, hoes, cultivators, weeders, post hole diggers, scrapers, edgers and forks; wheelbarrows and lawn carts; snow tools comprising pushers, roof rakes, sled sleigh shovels, scoops, and ice scrapers; and pruning products, such as pruners, loppers, shears, and other tools. The segment also offers striking tools, including axes, picks, mattocks, mauls, wood splitters, sledgehammers, pry bars, and repair handles; traditional and gardening hand tools comprising hammers, screwdrivers, pliers, adjustable wrenches, handsaws, tape measures, levels, clamps, trowels, cultivators, weeders, and other hand tools; indoor and outdoor planters and lawn accessories; and garden hoses and hose reels. In addition, the segment provides home organization products, including wire and wood shelving, containers, storage cabinets, and other closet and home organization accessories; residential, industrial, and commercial fans; and cleaning products, such as brooms, brushes, squeegees, and other cleaning products. The company was formerly known as Instrument Systems Corporation and changed its name to Griffon Corporation in June 1992. Griffon Corporation was founded in 1774 and is headquartered in New York, New York.