Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 2,604 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,031 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,604 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Griffon were worth $12,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Griffon by 98.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Griffon by 65.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 842 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the first quarter worth $65,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Griffon Stock Performance

GFF stock opened at $70.00 on Tuesday. 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 1-year low of $38.33 and a 1-year high of $77.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47 and a beta of 1.29.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $688.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $339,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 198,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,899,970. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 50,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,275,350. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 232,560 shares of company stock worth $15,290,160. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GFF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price 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. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Griffon currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

About Griffon

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.