ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC Sells 10,000 Shares of Griffon Corporation $GFF

ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC decreased its holdings in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 20.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Griffon comprises approximately 2.2% of ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $2,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 149.6% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 352 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Griffon during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Griffon by 362.6% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 495 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Griffon in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Griffon Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:GFF opened at $90.62 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.14. Griffon Corporation has a one year low of $65.01 and a one year high of $98.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 697.11 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $421.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $414.63 million. Griffon had a net margin of 0.31% and a return on equity of 298.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 676.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GFF shares. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.92, for a total transaction of $9,492,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,784,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,365,471.24. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 4,166 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.76, for a total value of $407,268.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 785,900 shares in the company, valued at $76,829,584. This trade represents a 0.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 129,389 shares of company stock valued at $12,309,525 over the last 90 days. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Griffon Company Profile

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.