Advisors Preferred LLC Invests $1.14 Million in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 14,968 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,140,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Griffon by 3.2% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 18,966 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Griffon by 22.4% in the third quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 10,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 7,415 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Griffon by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 427,674 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,567,000 after acquiring an additional 25,681 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in shares of Griffon by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 29,432 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. CJS Securities upgraded Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 target price on Griffon in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.50.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $88.58 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.43. Griffon Corporation has a 12 month low of $63.92 and a 12 month high of $97.58. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $649.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.35 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 228.83% and a net margin of 1.76%.The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In related news, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $295,180.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,333,792.80. This trade represents a 18.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total transaction of $1,431,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 119,747 shares in the company, valued at $11,428,653.68. This trade represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 10.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.