Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $69.67 and traded as high as $77.02. Griffon shares last traded at $75.69, with a volume of 203,587 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on GFF. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stephens boosted their price target on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.25.

Griffon Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.75. The company has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13 and a beta of 1.43.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $659.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.24 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 108.70% and a net margin of 8.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.02%.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In other news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $415,564.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,561,316.28. The trade was a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 67,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total transaction of $4,706,853.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,102,503 shares in the company, valued at $147,343,410.24. This represents a 3.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 365,170 shares of company stock valued at $27,178,746. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GFF. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 5.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Griffon by 5.0% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,913 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Griffon by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,011 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Griffon by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,780 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 98.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

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.