ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC Has $3.05 Million Stock Holdings in Griffon Corporation $GFF

ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC grew its position in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 40,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Griffon makes up 4.4% of ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $3,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Griffon by 8,720.0% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 441 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Griffon by 151.7% during the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 438 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 11,460.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 578 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Griffon currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $95.60.

Griffon Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Griffon stock opened at $76.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.73, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.28. Griffon Corporation has a 12-month low of $63.92 and a 12-month high of $84.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.99.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The conglomerate reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.02). Griffon had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 181.66%. The company had revenue of $662.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $631.47 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. Griffon’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This is a boost from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.00%.

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.