AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 1,810 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 93.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,755 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 5.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 5,733 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Griffon by 1.1% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,780 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,435,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital raised shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens lifted their price objective on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.75.

Griffon Trading Up 1.8 %

GFF opened at $69.52 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $74.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.20. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $55.01 and a 1-year high of $86.73. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.69%.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total transaction of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Griffon

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.