Robert Mehmel Sells 3,240 Shares of Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Stock

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert Mehmel sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.16, for a total transaction of $347,198.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 723,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,480,109.12. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Griffon Stock Down 1.7%

GFF stock opened at $104.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75. Griffon Corporation has a 52 week low of $65.01 and a 52 week high of $108.57.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $481.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $457.70 million. Griffon had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 249.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Griffon Corporation will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GFF. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on Griffon in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Stephens increased their price objective on Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $122.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GFF. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 25,790 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter worth $1,265,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 415,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,201,000 after acquiring an additional 124,750 shares during the period. OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,547,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 77.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 117,092 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,510,000 after acquiring an additional 51,004 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Griffon

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.