Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Price Target Raised to $100.00

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) had its target price increased by Robert W. Baird from $92.00 to $100.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

GFF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.25.

Griffon Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Griffon stock opened at $82.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 1.31. Griffon has a twelve month low of $45.70 and a twelve month high of $83.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.29. Griffon had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 108.70%. The business had revenue of $659.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.24 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Griffon will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.18%.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to reacquire up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In related news, CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.10, for a total value of $880,055.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 199,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,203,342.80. This trade represents a 6.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $339,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 198,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,899,970. This trade represents a 2.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 603,517 shares of company stock worth $42,818,506 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Griffon by 98.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $65,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Griffon by 56.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.