Bridgefront Capital LLC Acquires New Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,943 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GFF. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its stake in Griffon by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after buying an additional 6,125 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at $21,451,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Griffon by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 538,200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $38,358,000 after purchasing an additional 18,274 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Griffon by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 224,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $15,728,000 after purchasing an additional 9,417 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Griffon by 57.0% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 27,247 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,000 after buying an additional 9,896 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Trading Up 4.4 %

NYSE GFF opened at $70.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.89. Griffon Co. has a twelve month low of $55.01 and a twelve month high of $86.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.17.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.10. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. The company had revenue of $611.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. Griffon’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Griffon in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital raised shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens lifted their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Griffon presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.20.

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.