Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $68.12, but opened at $73.00. Griffon shares last traded at $75.29, with a volume of 243,727 shares traded.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on GFF. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.50.

Griffon Stock Up 10.8 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24 and a beta of 1.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $809,055.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,275,350. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $809,055.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,390 shares in the company, valued at $3,275,350. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.10, for a total value of $880,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 199,748 shares in the company, valued at $13,203,342.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,464 shares of company stock worth $17,244,450. 16.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GFF. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in Griffon by 5.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Griffon by 5.3% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,011 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Griffon by 1.3% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,753 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Griffon by 2.2% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 14,562 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.