JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 25,681 Shares of Griffon Corporation $GFF

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 427,674 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,681 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Griffon were worth $32,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Griffon in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 539 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Griffon by 1,049.1% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 609 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Griffon in the first quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GFF. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 price target on Griffon in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Stephens raised their price objective on Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.50.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In related news, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $295,180.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,333,792.80. The trade was a 18.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total transaction of $1,431,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 119,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,428,653.68. This trade represents a 11.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of GFF opened at $85.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.33. Griffon Corporation has a 52 week low of $63.92 and a 52 week high of $97.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.55.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $649.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $618.35 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 228.83% and a net margin of 1.76%.Griffon’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.65%.

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.