Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd Sells 60,300 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd decreased its position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 78.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 60,300 shares during the period. Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd’s holdings in Griffon were worth $1,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Griffon by 343.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Down 0.8%

GFF stock opened at $72.92 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.11. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 1.17. Griffon Co. has a twelve month low of $55.01 and a twelve month high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GFF. Loop Capital raised Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Stephens raised their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Griffon currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.20.

Griffon 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.