Hsbc Holdings PLC Raises Position in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 228.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 61,704 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,934 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Griffon were worth $3,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Griffon by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 39,526 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,899,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,753 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 2.2% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 14,562 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Griffon by 3.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,074 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Griffon by 65.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 842 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of Griffon stock opened at $69.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $38.33 and a 12 month high of $77.99.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.07). Griffon had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 96.05%. The business had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. Griffon’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $809,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 50,390 shares in the company, valued at $3,275,350. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $809,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,275,350. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 1,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.11, for a total value of $84,482.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 754,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,866,165.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 209,251 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,297 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Griffon Company 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.