Cwm LLC Boosts Stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Cwm LLC lifted its holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 1,024.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,136 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $80,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GFF. Guidance Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the first quarter worth about $482,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 1.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,566 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,168,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the first quarter worth about $433,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the first quarter worth about $4,013,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the first quarter worth about $248,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of GFF stock opened at $63.46 on Friday. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $77.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $66.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.07). Griffon had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 96.05%. The company had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. Griffon’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In other Griffon news, CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.10, for a total transaction of $880,055.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 199,748 shares in the company, valued at $13,203,342.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $6,226,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,260,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,754,045.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.10, for a total transaction of $880,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 199,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,203,342.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 260,464 shares of company stock worth $17,244,450 over the last three months. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

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.