A newly amended filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that Mario Gabelli‘s GAMCO Investors have upped its position in Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF). GAMCO currently holds 6.75 million shares, versus 6.59 million held previously. The position amasses over 12% of the company’s common stock. Overall, GAMCO, together with other Gabelli’s Funds held an aggregate of over 9.9 million shares, equal to 17.7% of the stock.
Pzena Investment Management, led by Richard S. Pzena, is another shareholder of Griffon Corporation, reporting almost 2.0 million shares in its latest 13F. Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, owns 917,300 shares. Both funds have inched up their stakes during the fourth quarter of 2013.
In February, Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) conducted a senior notes offering, selling $600 million worth of 5.25% senior notes due 2022. The proceeds from the offering has been used for repurchasing some of the previously issued notes.
Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) has returned over 20% during 2013, and its stock has a solid forward Price-to-Earnings of around 18. For the fiscal first quarter ended December 31, 2013, Griffon Corporation showed a 7% increase in revenues on the year, which totaled $453 million. The company also posted a net income of $0.07 per share, up from $0.05 a year ago, and also beating the analyst consensus estimate of $0.06. For the current quarter, Griffon is expected to post an EPS of $0.13.
On the back of positive results and solid performance, the average recommendation for Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is ‘Buy’, with a target price of $15.00 per share.
GAMCO Investors has a diversified equity portfolio, which consists predominantly of Consumer and Industrial Goods, and Services companies. Among its most significant holdings are DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV), and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), in which it holds over 4.5 million shares, worth $313.4 million, and 3.4 million shares, worth $309.1 million respectively.
Disclosure: none
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