Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.60.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GFF. Stephens lifted their target price on Griffon from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Monday, December 29th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of GFF opened at $74.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.99, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $73.84 and its 200-day moving average is $75.49. Griffon has a 12-month low of $63.92 and a 12-month high of $84.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The conglomerate reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $662.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $631.47 million. Griffon had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 181.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Griffon will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Griffon by 178.4% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,628 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 10,015 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the first quarter worth about $3,828,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 43.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 42,701 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,090,000 after acquiring an additional 12,890 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 200.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,963 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 5,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 114.3% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,259 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 3,339 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.