Short Interest in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Expands By 29.0%

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,670,000 shares, a growth of 29.0% from the October 15th total of 2,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 403,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.6 days. Currently, 6.5% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GFF has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $87.25.

Griffon Stock Performance

GFF stock traded down $3.59 on Friday, hitting $73.80. The company had a trading volume of 569,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 436,113. 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 12-month low of $44.71 and a 12-month high of $80.85. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.31. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $67.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.82.

Griffon announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This is an increase from Griffon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $339,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 198,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,899,970. This trade represents a 2.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $6,226,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,260,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $140,754,045.96. The trade was a 4.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 606,742 shares of company stock valued at $42,931,300. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

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