Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on GFF. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens raised their price target on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.25.

Griffon Stock Performance

GFF traded down $3.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.81. The stock had a trading volume of 569,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 436,113. Griffon has a twelve month low of $44.71 and a twelve month high of $80.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $67.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.82.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the conglomerate to repurchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s payout ratio is currently 14.18%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Griffon by 74.8% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 473,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,144,000 after buying an additional 202,685 shares during the last quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 165,000 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 112.1% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 283,800 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,123,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Griffon during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,433,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Griffon by 120.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 164,555 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $11,519,000 after purchasing an additional 89,948 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.