Insider Selling: Griffon (NYSE:GFF) COO Sells $27,358.76 in Stock

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert Mehmel sold 286 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.66, for a total value of $27,358.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 790,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,577,713.56. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Griffon Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of GFF stock traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $97.55. 329,366 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 358,094. The business’s fifty day moving average is $89.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.43. Griffon Corporation has a 12-month low of $65.01 and a 12-month high of $98.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 750.41 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 676.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 target price on Griffon in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GFF. Voss Capital LP lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 185,000 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 396.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,088 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,867,000 after acquiring an additional 52,786 shares during the last quarter. MHR Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,519,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 25,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Griffon by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 427,674 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,567,000 after purchasing an additional 25,681 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.