Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon (NYSE:GFF) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on GFF. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Griffon from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Raymond James boosted their price target on Griffon from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Griffon from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Strong Buy and a consensus price target of $69.50.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of GFF traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $70.06. 42,278 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 373,232. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.59 and a beta of 1.43. Griffon has a 12 month low of $29.11 and a 12 month high of $75.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.46. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $69.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.59.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $643.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $595.87 million. Griffon had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 72.80%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Griffon will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Griffon’s payout ratio is 44.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Griffon news, Director James W. Sight sold 2,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.38, for a total transaction of $134,760.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,269,641.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Griffon by 42.4% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,100 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Griffon by 5.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 431,791 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $17,129,000 after purchasing an additional 23,060 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in Griffon by 14.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 146,492 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,811,000 after buying an additional 17,955 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in Griffon by 29.7% during the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 14,417 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Griffon by 31.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,265 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 1,486 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

About Griffon

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.