Swiss National Bank Purchases 1,900 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Swiss National Bank grew its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF – Get Rating) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 103,300 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Griffon were worth $3,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Griffon in the 1st quarter worth $299,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Griffon by 92.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 50,061 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 24,040 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Griffon by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 19,172 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,745 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Griffon by 13.0% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 41,892 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 4,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 54.7% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 26,692 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 9,437 shares in the last quarter. 74.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Stock Performance

Griffon stock opened at $32.49 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of -5.71 and a beta of 1.55. Griffon Co. has a twelve month low of $25.43 and a twelve month high of $43.74.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The conglomerate reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $710.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $723.23 million. Griffon had a positive return on equity of 40.44% and a negative net margin of 10.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 25th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 24th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently -7.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. TheStreet lowered Griffon from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 15th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on Griffon from $52.00 to $37.00 in a report on Monday, May 8th.

About Griffon

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Griffon Corp. is a diversified management and holding company, which conducts business through its subsidiaries. It provides direction and assistance to its subsidiaries in connection with acquisition and growth opportunities. It operates through the Consumer and Professional Products and Home and Building Products segments.