Amalgamated Bank Reduces Stock Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,631 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 323 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Griffon were worth $829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Griffon by 74.8% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 473,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,144,000 after buying an additional 202,685 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth $12,842,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Griffon during the third quarter valued at $9,800,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Griffon by 21.4% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,907 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $24,423,000 after acquiring an additional 61,399 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Griffon by 4.1% in 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. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GFF. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $98.75.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $69.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $55.01 and a 1-year high of $86.73. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.97. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.23 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.69%.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to purchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In related news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $415,564.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,561,316.28. This trade represents a 10.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total transaction of $242,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

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. 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.