StockNews.com Upgrades Griffon (NYSE:GFF) to Strong-Buy

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

Several other research firms have also issued reports on GFF. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Griffon currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.50.

Griffon Trading Up 2.5 %

Griffon stock traded up $1.73 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $69.71. 134,141 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 422,835. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.50. Griffon has a fifty-two week low of $42.13 and a fifty-two week high of $77.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $66.43 and its 200-day moving average is $66.59.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its earnings results 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 analyst estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Griffon will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In other news, CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.10, for a total value of $880,055.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 199,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,203,342.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 199,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,203,342.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $809,055.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,275,350. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 260,464 shares of company stock valued at $17,244,450 in the last quarter. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP grew its stake in Griffon by 98.7% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Griffon in the second quarter valued at $55,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the first quarter valued at about $65,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 2nd quarter worth about $70,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.