Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $115.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 target price on Griffon in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Griffon Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of GFF stock opened at $90.62 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $90.01 and a 200-day moving average of $85.14. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 697.11 and a beta of 1.41. Griffon has a 52-week low of $65.01 and a 52-week high of $98.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $421.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $414.63 million. Griffon had a net margin of 0.31% and a return on equity of 298.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Griffon will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 676.92%.

Insider Activity

In other Griffon news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.92, for a total transaction of $9,492,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,784,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,365,471.24. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 7,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.02, for a total transaction of $755,965.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 790,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,889,599.04. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 129,389 shares of company stock worth $12,309,525 over the last 90 days. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 396.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,088 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,867,000 after acquiring an additional 52,786 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 97.4% during the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,258 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 25,790 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the first quarter worth about $1,265,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 6.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 427,674 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $32,567,000 after purchasing an additional 25,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the first quarter worth about $1,547,000. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

About Griffon

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon’s portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon’s Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.