Griffon (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald Kramer Sells 100,000 Shares

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.42, for a total value of $10,242,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,684,297 shares in the company, valued at $172,505,698.74. This trade represents a 5.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Griffon Stock Up 0.8%

GFF stock traded up $0.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $107.16. 274,481 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 352,398. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $91.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34 and a beta of 1.44. Griffon Corporation has a 52-week low of $65.01 and a 52-week high of $108.57.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.17. Griffon had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 249.31%. The company had revenue of $481.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $457.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 676.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GFF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Griffon during the 2nd quarter valued at $590,633,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the second quarter worth $36,536,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,002,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $73,835,000 after acquiring an additional 293,278 shares in the last quarter. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon in the first quarter valued at $21,070,000. Finally, Voss Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,760,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $129,624,000 after acquiring an additional 225,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Company Profile

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.