Quantbot Technologies LP Increases Stock Holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 430.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,897 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,396 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Griffon were worth $1,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Griffon by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,379,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $88,066,000 after buying an additional 19,644 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 9.6% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 631,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $40,350,000 after acquiring an additional 55,100 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Griffon by 7.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 519,926 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $36,395,000 after acquiring an additional 34,525 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 112.1% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 283,800 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,123,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Griffon by 6.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 270,805 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,294,000 after purchasing an additional 16,740 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:GFF opened at $84.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. Griffon Co. has a 52-week low of $45.70 and a 52-week high of $86.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.54. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 1.31.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $659.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.24 million. Griffon had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 108.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This is a boost from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is 17.02%.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GFF shares. StockNews.com raised Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Griffon news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 912 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.06, for a total value of $63,894.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 746,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,307,566.66. This trade represents a 0.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.10, for a total transaction of $880,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 199,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,203,342.80. This represents a 6.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 608,017 shares of company stock valued at $43,198,576 over the last three months. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Griffon Company Profile

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.