Insider Selling: Griffon (NYSE:GFF) COO Sells $312,148.80 in Stock

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert Mehmel sold 3,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.40, for a total transaction of $312,148.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 806,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,941,626.40. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Griffon Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $91.21 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $87.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.06. Griffon Corporation has a one year low of $65.01 and a one year high of $97.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 701.69 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Griffon Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voss Capital LP raised its position in shares of Griffon by 13.7% in the third quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,535,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $116,890,000 after purchasing an additional 185,000 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 396.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,088 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,867,000 after buying an additional 52,786 shares during the period. MHR Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 3rd quarter worth about $9,519,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Griffon by 97.4% in the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,258 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,849,000 after buying an additional 25,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Griffon by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 170,244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,964,000 after buying an additional 37,205 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.