Quest Partners LLC Has $551,000 Stock Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 211.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,624 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,855 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $432,954,000 after acquiring an additional 38,707 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,354,467 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $82,557,000 after acquiring an additional 30,710 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 486.0% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 911,295 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $66,834,000 after acquiring an additional 755,773 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 522,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth $20,531,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $64.86 on Friday. Griffon Co. has a 52 week low of $38.33 and a 52 week high of $77.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.85 and its 200-day moving average is $67.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11 and a beta of 1.30.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.07). Griffon had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 96.05%. The firm had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $809,055.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 50,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,275,350. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

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.