Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 2,773 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,084 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,773 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Griffon were worth $1,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GFF. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Griffon by 57.0% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 27,247 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 9,896 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 worth $409,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Griffon by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 14,120 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 1,462 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its position in Griffon by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after buying an additional 6,125 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Griffon in the 4th quarter worth $276,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GFF opened at $72.25 on Friday. Griffon Co. has a 1 year low of $55.01 and a 1 year high of $86.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $74.92 and its 200 day moving average is $71.79. 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 (NYSE:GFF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.69%.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on GFF. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stephens increased their price objective on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital raised Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

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

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.