Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Now Covered by Loop Capital

Equities research analysts at Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Griffon (NYSE:GFF) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the conglomerate’s stock. Loop Capital’s target price indicates a potential upside of 24.40% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on GFF. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stephens increased their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.75.

Griffon Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:GFF traded down $1.27 during trading on Thursday, reaching $76.37. The stock had a trading volume of 226,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 322,734. Griffon has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.67 and its 200 day moving average is $71.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59 and a beta of 1.43.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Griffon will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total transaction of $242,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44,306 shares in the company, valued at $3,561,316.28. This represents a 10.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,892 shares of company stock worth $1,734,296. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,325,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $21,451,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Griffon by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 892,124 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $63,582,000 after purchasing an additional 236,179 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Griffon by 74.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 473,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,144,000 after purchasing an additional 202,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc bought a new position in Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at $12,842,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.