UBS Group AG Decreases Stock Position in Griffon Corporation $GFF

UBS Group AG lessened its stake in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 49.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 71,898 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 71,503 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Griffon were worth $5,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 727.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 91,341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,727,000 after buying an additional 80,298 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 97,146 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,167,000 after buying an additional 10,646 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,903 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 3,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 97.4% during the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,258 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,849,000 after buying an additional 25,790 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Stock Performance

GFF stock opened at $84.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 651.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.46. Griffon Corporation has a 12-month low of $65.01 and a 12-month high of $97.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.67.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $421.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.63 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 298.42% and a net margin of 0.31%.The business’s revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 676.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GFF shares. Wall Street Zen cut Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Stephens increased their target price on Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 target price on Griffon in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.00.

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.