Rock Creek Group LP Sells 10,000 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Rock Creek Group LP lessened its holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Griffon accounts for approximately 0.2% of Rock Creek Group LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Rock Creek Group LP’s holdings in Griffon were worth $2,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GFF. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Griffon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Griffon during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 343.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 86.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.75.

Griffon Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of GFF opened at $70.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.51. Griffon Co. has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $86.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.07 and a 200-day moving average of $72.76.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s payout ratio is 14.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

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.