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

Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,504 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $732,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GFF. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Griffon by 12.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Griffon by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,576 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 341,458 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $24,817,000 after buying an additional 17,581 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 164,673 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $11,968,000 after buying an additional 12,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Griffon by 255.2% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 241,733 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,570,000 after buying an additional 173,682 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Trading Down 1.7%

GFF stock opened at $104.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.41. Griffon Corporation has a one year low of $65.01 and a one year high of $108.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $93.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.81.

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

Griffon Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In other news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.16, for a total transaction of $347,198.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 723,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,480,109.12. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $369,565.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,287,165.18. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 298,757 shares of company stock valued at $29,818,460. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

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.