Summit Global Investments Invests $732,000 in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 7,504 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $732,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,546 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 10,299 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Griffon by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,929 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Griffon by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 585 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 33.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.16, for a total transaction of $347,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 723,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,480,109.12. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 3,500 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $369,565.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,287,165.18. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 298,757 shares of company stock valued at $29,818,460. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Griffon Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Griffon stock opened at $104.17 on Friday. Griffon Corporation has a 1 year low of $65.01 and a 1 year high of $108.57. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $93.89 and a 200 day moving average of $86.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.17. Griffon had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 249.31%. The business had revenue of $481.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $457.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. Griffon’s quarterly revenue was down 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on GFF shares. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on Griffon in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $122.50.

Griffon Profile

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.