SEB Asset Management AB Invests $21.07 Million in Griffon Corporation $GFF

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 289,896 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $21,070,000. SEB Asset Management AB owned approximately 0.62% of Griffon as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Griffon by 149.6% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 352 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 362.6% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 495 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 342.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Griffon Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of GFF opened at $91.53 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 704.09 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a current ratio of 2.86. Griffon Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $65.01 and a fifty-two week high of $98.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.61.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $421.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.63 million. Griffon had a net margin of 0.31% and a return on equity of 298.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 676.92%.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.92, for a total value of $9,492,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,784,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,365,471.24. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 7,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.02, for a total value of $755,965.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 790,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,889,599.04. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 129,389 shares of company stock worth $12,309,525 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on GFF. Zacks Research raised shares of Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

Griffon Company 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.