Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Takes Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,002 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,375,843 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $454,406,000 after acquiring an additional 177,771 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Griffon by 4.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $108,914,000 after purchasing an additional 61,210 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Griffon by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 877,840 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $61,463,000 after purchasing an additional 30,264 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at $43,325,000. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Griffon by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 558,118 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,428,000 after buying an additional 2,552 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Stock Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $69.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 1.26. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $55.01 and a 1-year high of $86.73.

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

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $97.20.

Griffon Profile

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.