VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Invests $1.20 Million in Griffon Corporation $GFF

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 12,300 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,200,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Griffon in the second quarter worth about $590,633,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 8,820.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,006,337 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $390,738,000 after buying an additional 3,961,427 shares in the last quarter. Voss Capital LP grew its position in shares of Griffon by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,760,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $129,624,000 after buying an additional 225,000 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Griffon by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,535,473 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $113,088,000 after buying an additional 11,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,002,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $73,835,000 after acquiring an additional 293,278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:GFF opened at $96.11 on Friday. Griffon Corporation has a 12 month low of $65.01 and a 12 month high of $108.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52 and a beta of 1.45.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $481.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $457.70 million. Griffon had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 249.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 22.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 22,209 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.08, for a total transaction of $2,267,094.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 763,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,957,577.28. The trade was a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $369,565.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,287,165.18. This trade represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 193,256 shares of company stock valued at $19,802,875. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on GFF. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $122.50.

About Griffon

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified holding company that manufactures and distributes products for residential, commercial and industrial markets. Its operations are organized primarily around home and building products, as well as consumer and professional products, with sales in North America and international markets.

Through its building-products businesses, Griffon offers garage doors, rolling steel doors, security grilles, shutters and related access products. Its brands include Clopay, Cornell and Cookson, which serve residential, commercial and industrial customers through dealers, distributors, contractors and other channels.

Griffon’s consumer and professional products operations include garden and landscaping tools, outdoor equipment and ceiling fans.