Carlson Capital L P Has $2.49 Million Stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Carlson Capital L P lessened its holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 65.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,674 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 115,784 shares during the period. Carlson Capital L P owned about 0.11% of Griffon worth $2,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 530.3% during the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 769 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 931.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,165 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 64.5% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,754 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the second quarter worth $80,000. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in Griffon by 116.6% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,373 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares in the last quarter. 73.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 27th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Griffon from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock.

Griffon Stock Performance

GFF traded up $0.94 on Friday, hitting $45.94. The company had a trading volume of 768,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,297. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $25.97 and a 1-year high of $47.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.63, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.51.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 15th. The conglomerate reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $641.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $653.83 million. Griffon had a net margin of 2.89% and a return on equity of 60.20%. Griffon’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 28th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 27th. This is a positive change from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to buy up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Company Profile

Griffon Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides consumer and professional, and home and building products in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, and internationally. Its Consumer and Professional Products segment manufactures and markets long-handled tools and landscaping products for homeowners and professionals; wood and wire closet organization, general living storage, and wire garage storage products to home center retail chains, mass merchandisers, and direct-to builder professional installers; wheelbarrows and lawn carts; snow, striking, and hand tools; planters and lawn accessories; garden hoses; and pruners, loppers, shears, and other tools, as well as cleaning products for professional, home, and industrial use.