Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Has $10.57 Million Stock Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 148,283 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 17,001 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Griffon were worth $10,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GFF. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the third quarter valued at about $502,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Griffon by 70.8% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,880 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Griffon by 4.4% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 11,954 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $837,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Griffon by 4.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 224,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,728,000 after acquiring an additional 9,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the third quarter valued at about $377,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Price Performance

Griffon stock opened at $70.20 on Thursday. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $55.01 and a 12 month high of $86.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $74.75 and its 200-day moving average is $72.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.40.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. Equities research analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s payout ratio is 14.69%.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the conglomerate to purchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GFF. Stephens boosted their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital raised Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $415,564.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,561,316.28. The trade was a 10.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Griffon Profile

Griffon Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides consumer and professional, and home and building products in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Home and Building Products, and Consumer and Professional Products. The Home and Building Products segment manufactures and markets residential and commercial sectional garage doors, rolling steel service doors, fire doors, shutters, steel security grilles, and room dividers for the use in commercial construction and repair, and home remodeling applications.