Stephens Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Stock

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) had its target price increased by research analysts at Stephens from $85.00 to $100.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the conglomerate’s stock. Stephens’ price target points to a potential upside of 35.50% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on GFF. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.25.

Griffon Stock Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $73.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. Griffon has a 1 year low of $44.71 and a 1 year high of $80.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $67.53 and a 200-day moving average of $66.82.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other news, Director James W. Sight sold 3,660 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total transaction of $279,697.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,825.36. The trade was a 17.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $809,055.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 50,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,275,350. This trade represents a 19.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 606,742 shares of company stock worth $42,931,300 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GFF. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Griffon by 98.7% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $65,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Griffon by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 411 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.