Cibc World Markets Corp Takes Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 3,518 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GFF. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Griffon by 343.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in Griffon by 86.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,729 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE GFF opened at $74.32 on Wednesday. Griffon Co. has a one year low of $55.01 and a one year high of $86.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.63. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GFF. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital raised shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.75.

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.