Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Hits New 52-Week High at $74.32

Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $74.32 and last traded at $74.07, with a volume of 46086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Raymond James increased their target price on Griffon from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Griffon from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd.

Griffon Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $66.98 and its 200 day moving average is $54.07.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $643.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.87 million. Griffon had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 72.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Griffon’s payout ratio is 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James W. Sight sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.38, for a total transaction of $134,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,269,641.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter worth $299,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Griffon by 92.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 50,061 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 24,040 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 16.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 19,172 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,745 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 41,892 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 26,692 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 9,437 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.