Bessemer Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) by 21.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232,849 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 41,567 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Griffon were worth $17,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GFF. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Griffon by 645.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 447 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Griffon by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GFF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.00.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of GFF stock opened at $81.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.43. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 630.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.43. Griffon Corporation has a one year low of $65.01 and a one year high of $97.58.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.06. The business 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 revenue for the quarter was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 676.92%.

Griffon 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.