Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $115.00.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered 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 $115.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other Griffon news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 7,873 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.02, for a total transaction of $755,965.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 790,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,889,599.04. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.92, for a total value of $9,492,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,784,297 shares in the company, valued at $169,365,471.24. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 129,389 shares of company stock valued at $12,309,525 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Griffon by 149.6% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 352 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Griffon during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Griffon in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Griffon by 362.6% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 495 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Griffon in the second quarter worth about $37,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $91.53 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 704.09 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a current ratio of 2.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.61. Griffon has a 52-week low of $65.01 and a 52-week high of $98.36.

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

Griffon Dividend Announcement

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

About Griffon

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.