Squarepoint Ops LLC Acquires New Position in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 19,065 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,380,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GFF. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 2,011.3% during the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 113,312 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,200,000 after purchasing an additional 107,945 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Griffon by 52.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 295,657 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $21,397,000 after buying an additional 101,246 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Griffon in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,368,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Griffon by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 268,521 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $19,433,000 after buying an additional 65,235 shares during the period. Finally, Curi Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,418,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Stock Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $76.73 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.99. Griffon Corporation has a twelve month low of $63.92 and a twelve month high of $84.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.73, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.28.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The conglomerate reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.02). Griffon had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 181.66%. The company had revenue of $662.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $631.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GFF. Zacks Research cut shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. CJS Securities raised Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $95.60.

About Griffon

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon’s portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon’s Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.