Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Sells 30,500 Shares of Griffon Corporation $GFF

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ trimmed its position in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,134 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 30,500 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Griffon were worth $1,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GFF. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Griffon by 151.7% during the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 438 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 539 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 33.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in Griffon by 1,049.1% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 609 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In other news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total value of $1,431,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 119,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,428,653.68. This represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $295,180.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,333,792.80. This represents a 18.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $88.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36. Griffon Corporation has a 12 month low of $63.92 and a 12 month high of $97.58. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.28, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.47 and its 200 day moving average is $77.43.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $649.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.35 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 228.83% and a net margin of 1.76%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 95.65%.

Griffon Profile

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.