Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.26 Million Position in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 17,400 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,265,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voss Capital LP boosted its holdings in Griffon by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,760,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $129,624,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,535,473 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $113,088,000 after buying an additional 11,169 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,002,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $73,835,000 after buying an additional 293,278 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 867,195 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $63,869,000 after buying an additional 79,000 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 719,046 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $52,037,000 after buying an additional 51,354 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Price Performance

GFF stock opened at $92.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.44 and a 200-day moving average of $83.48. Griffon Corporation has a 12-month low of $65.01 and a 12-month high of $98.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77. The company has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 713.45 and a beta of 1.41.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $421.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.63 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 298.42% and a net margin of 0.31%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 676.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GFF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 target price on Griffon in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Griffon currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Griffon news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.92, for a total value of $9,492,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,784,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,365,471.24. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.76, for a total value of $407,268.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 785,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,829,584. This represents a 0.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,389 shares of company stock worth $12,309,525. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.