Trexquant Investment LP Purchases 32,497 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)

Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) by 29.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 144,494 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,497 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.30% of Griffon worth $10,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 33.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,335,000 after buying an additional 19,291 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its position in Griffon by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,125 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Griffon by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $108,914,000 after purchasing an additional 61,210 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Griffon by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 538,200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $38,358,000 after purchasing an additional 18,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,907 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $24,423,000 after purchasing an additional 61,399 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Trading Up 2.7 %

Griffon stock opened at $75.03 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The company has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.93. Griffon Co. has a 52-week low of $55.01 and a 52-week high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. Analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GFF shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital raised shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens increased their target price on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Griffon in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.20.

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.