Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital raised shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Griffon has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average target price of $98.75.

Griffon Stock Down 0.2 %

GFF stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.92. 371,173 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 351,906. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.40. Griffon has a 1 year low of $55.01 and a 1 year high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the conglomerate to reacquire up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in Griffon by 116.1% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 376 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Griffon during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Griffon during the fourth quarter valued at $64,000. 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.