Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Griffon (NYSE:GFF) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.50.

Griffon Trading Up 0.7 %

Griffon stock opened at $63.32 on Wednesday. Griffon has a 1 year low of $41.08 and a 1 year high of $77.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $66.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.59. 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 market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 1.31.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced 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). Griffon had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 96.05%. The company had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Griffon will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Griffon’s payout ratio is currently 16.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In other news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 912 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.06, for a total value of $63,894.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 746,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,307,566.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 6,532 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.06, for a total value of $457,631.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,169,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,006,870.02. This 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 the SEC website. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 912 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.06, for a total value of $63,894.72. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 746,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,307,566.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 260,464 shares of company stock worth $17,244,450 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Griffon by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,913 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 5.3% during the second 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. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 0.5% during the first quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 39,526 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,899,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 1.3% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,753 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 2.2% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 14,562 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.