Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon (NYSE:GFF) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon presently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $81.50.

Griffon Trading Down 0.6 %

Griffon stock opened at $68.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.05. Griffon has a one year low of $38.33 and a one year high of $77.99.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.94 million. Griffon had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 96.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Griffon will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 50,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,275,350. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.10, for a total transaction of $880,055.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 199,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,203,342.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 50,390 shares in the company, valued at $3,275,350. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 253,020 shares of company stock worth $16,722,924 over the last 90 days. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Griffon during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Griffon by 98.7% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in Griffon during the second quarter worth $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

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.