Seth L. Kaplan Sells 4,844 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $339,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 198,571 shares in the company, valued at $13,899,970. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Griffon Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of GFF stock opened at $67.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.34. Griffon Co. has a one year low of $38.33 and a one year high of $77.99.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.94 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 96.05% and a net margin of 7.27%. Griffon’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GFF. StockNews.com lowered shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Griffon presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 65.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 842 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Griffon during the 1st quarter valued at about $65,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.