Ronald J. Kramer Sells 6,532 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 6,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.06, for a total transaction of $457,631.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,169,667 shares in the company, valued at $152,006,870.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of GFF stock opened at $67.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.04. Griffon Co. has a 52 week low of $38.33 and a 52 week high of $77.99.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.94 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GFF shares. 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 12th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Griffon by 65.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 842 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Griffon in the first quarter worth about $482,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Griffon by 5.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 225,483 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $16,537,000 after buying an additional 12,185 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Griffon by 1.2% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,566 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,168,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Griffon during the 1st quarter worth approximately $433,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.