Griffon (GFF) Competitors

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) and A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) are both mid-cap multi-sector conglomerates companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their community ranking, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, media sentiment, dividends and profitability.

Is GFF or AOS more profitable?

A. O. Smith has a net margin of 14.41% compared to Griffon's net margin of 8.00%. Griffon's return on equity of 108.70% beat A. O. Smith's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Griffon	8.00%	108.70%	10.63%
A. O. Smith	14.41%	30.09%	17.83%

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, GFF or AOS?

A. O. Smith has higher revenue and earnings than Griffon. A. O. Smith is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Griffon, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Griffon	$2.62B	1.39	$209.90M	$4.23	17.92
A. O. Smith	$3.85B	2.53	$556.60M	$3.80	17.70

Which has more volatility and risk, GFF or AOS?

Griffon has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, A. O. Smith has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend GFF or AOS?

Griffon presently has a consensus target price of $91.67, suggesting a potential upside of 20.92%. A. O. Smith has a consensus target price of $80.86, suggesting a potential upside of 20.19%. Given Griffon's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Griffon is more favorable than A. O. Smith.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Griffon	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.33
A. O. Smith	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29

Do institutionals & insiders believe in GFF or AOS?

73.2% of Griffon shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.1% of A. O. Smith shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.1% of Griffon shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of A. O. Smith shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer GFF or AOS?

A. O. Smith received 214 more outperform votes than Griffon when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 66.15% of users gave Griffon an outperform vote while only 61.62% of users gave A. O. Smith an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Griffon	Outperform Votes 258 66.15%	Underperform Votes 132 33.85%
A. O. Smith	Outperform Votes 472 61.62%	Underperform Votes 294 38.38%

Is GFF or AOS a better dividend stock?

Griffon pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. A. O. Smith pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Griffon pays out 17.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. A. O. Smith pays out 35.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. A. O. Smith has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years. A. O. Smith is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media refer more to GFF or AOS?

In the previous week, A. O. Smith had 31 more articles in the media than Griffon. MarketBeat recorded 38 mentions for A. O. Smith and 7 mentions for Griffon. Griffon's average media sentiment score of 0.28 beat A. O. Smith's score of 0.04 indicating that Griffon is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Griffon	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
A. O. Smith	8 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	14 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

Griffon beats A. O. Smith on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.