Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are 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 assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.50.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GFF shares. Zacks Research downgraded Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. CJS Securities raised shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Griffon Stock Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $87.74 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36. Griffon has a twelve month low of $63.92 and a twelve month high of $97.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.37, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.33.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 228.83% and a net margin of 1.76%.The company had revenue of $649.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.35 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Griffon will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 95.65%.

Insider Activity

In other Griffon news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total value of $1,431,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 119,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,428,653.68. This represents a 11.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $295,180.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,333,792.80. This trade represents a 18.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Griffon by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,002,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $73,835,000 after acquiring an additional 293,278 shares during the last quarter. Voss Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,760,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $129,624,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 166.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 324,553 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $24,715,000 after purchasing an additional 202,714 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Griffon by 123,307.7% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 191,282 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $14,565,000 after purchasing an additional 191,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congruence Capital LLC bought a new stake in Griffon in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,985,000. 73.22% of the stock is 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.