Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Griffon (NYSE:GFF) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $87.25.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of GFF opened at $74.01 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $67.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.66. Griffon has a 52 week low of $45.56 and a 52 week high of $80.85. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 1.31.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.29. Griffon had a return on equity of 108.70% and a net margin of 8.00%. The business had revenue of $659.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Griffon will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This is a boost from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Griffon news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $339,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 198,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,899,970. The trade was a 2.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $6,226,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,260,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,754,045.96. This trade represents a 4.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 606,742 shares of company stock worth $42,931,300 in the last quarter. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 74.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 473,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,144,000 after purchasing an additional 202,685 shares during the period. Lodge Hill Capital LLC raised its stake in Griffon by 190.3% in the second quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC now owns 251,700 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $16,074,000 after buying an additional 165,000 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its holdings in Griffon by 112.1% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 283,800 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,123,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,433,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 120.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 164,555 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $11,519,000 after acquiring an additional 89,948 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.