Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Buy" from the four brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.50.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GFF. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of Griffon stock traded up $0.85 on Friday, hitting $69.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 221,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,008. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 1.29. Griffon has a 52-week low of $38.33 and a 52-week high of $77.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.07). Griffon had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 96.05%. The business had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Griffon will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon's payout ratio is 15.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In related news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $339,080.00. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Griffon news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,260,746 shares in the company, valued at $140,754,045.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of Griffon 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 198,571 shares in the company, valued at $13,899,970. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 253,020 shares of company stock worth $16,722,924 in the last 90 days. 16.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 98.7% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the second quarter valued at about $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 65.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 842 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Griffon during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.