Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Lowered to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

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

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stephens raised their target price on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday.

Griffon Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $80.96 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.03 and a 200 day moving average of $70.95. The company has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. Griffon has a 12-month low of $55.01 and a 12-month high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 108.70% and a net margin of 8.00%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Griffon will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

Griffon announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Griffon’s payout ratio is 17.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In related news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $415,564.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,561,316.28. The trade was a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victor Eugene Renuart sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.46, for a total value of $380,070.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,631,091.52. This trade represents a 18.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 365,170 shares of company stock worth $27,178,746 over the last quarter. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $108,914,000 after acquiring an additional 61,210 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 877,840 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $61,463,000 after buying an additional 30,264 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,325,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Griffon by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 538,200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $38,358,000 after buying an additional 18,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Griffon by 74.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 473,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,144,000 after purchasing an additional 202,685 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.