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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon (NYSE:GFF) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Loop Capital raised Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $98.75.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of GFF opened at $71.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 1.40. Griffon has a 52-week low of $55.01 and a 52-week high of $86.73. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $74.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Griffon will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s payout ratio is currently 14.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total transaction of $242,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,482,984. This trade 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 is available at this link. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 116.1% during 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 last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the 4th quarter worth about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

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.