Insider Selling: Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Director Sells 2,617 Shares of Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) Director Victor Eugene Renuart sold 2,617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.79, for a total transaction of $70,109.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,579 shares in the company, valued at $658,471.41. This represents a 9.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Victor Eugene Renuart also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, November 26th, Victor Eugene Renuart sold 4,500 shares of Griffon stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.46, for a total transaction of $380,070.00.

Griffon Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:GFF traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $84.30. The company had a trading volume of 205,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 439,414. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.54. Griffon Co. has a 52 week low of $45.70 and a 52 week high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

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

Griffon Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. This is a positive change from Griffon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.02%.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in 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 management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GFF shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, November 23rd. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Griffon by 228.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 61,704 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,954,000 after buying an additional 42,934 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Griffon by 659.0% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,466 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 26,452 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI raised its position in shares of Griffon by 125.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 17,426 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,220,000 after purchasing an additional 9,701 shares during the last quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. raised its position in shares of Griffon by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. now owns 30,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,916,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,089,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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