Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Given Strong-Buy Rating at Raymond James

Raymond James restated their strong-buy rating on shares of Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $95.00 target price on the conglomerate's stock, up from their prior target price of $92.00.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on GFF. Stephens upped their price objective on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th.

Griffon Price Performance

GFF traded down $0.41 during trading on Thursday, hitting $78.64. 334,315 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 325,451. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $75.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.99. The company has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Griffon has a twelve month low of $55.01 and a twelve month high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. Equities research analysts forecast that Griffon will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to purchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Griffon's payout ratio is currently 14.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Griffon news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.97, for a total value of $1,874,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 712,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,447,162.58. This trade represents a 3.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $415,564.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,561,316.28. The trade was a 10.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 292,309 shares of company stock worth $22,104,633 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in Griffon by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,487 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 5.0% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,913 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Griffon by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 5,733 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Griffon by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,780 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 384 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.