StockNews.com Upgrades Griffon (NYSE:GFF) to Strong-Buy

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Griffon Trading Up 2.1 %

Griffon stock opened at $82.98 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.69 and a 200-day moving average of $67.10. Griffon has a one year low of $45.70 and a one year high of $83.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 1.31.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.29. Griffon had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 108.70%. The business had revenue of $659.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.24 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Griffon's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Griffon will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 241,757 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.35, for a total transaction of $18,216,389.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,860,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,207,211.10. The trade was a 11.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 9,222 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.50, for a total transaction of $696,261.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,108,184. This trade represents a 18.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 603,517 shares of company stock valued at $42,818,506. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GFF. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 202,685 shares during the period. Lodge Hill Capital LLC increased its stake in Griffon by 190.3% in the second quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC now owns 251,700 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $16,074,000 after purchasing an additional 165,000 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Griffon by 112.1% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 283,800 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $18,123,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Griffon in the second quarter valued at $7,433,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Griffon by 120.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 164,555 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $11,519,000 after purchasing an additional 89,948 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company's stock.

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.