Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Given New $100.00 Price Target at Stephens

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) had its price target raised by Stephens from $85.00 to $100.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $87.25.

Griffon Trading Down 4.6 %

NYSE GFF opened at $73.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.31. Griffon has a fifty-two week low of $44.71 and a fifty-two week high of $80.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.66.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $659.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.24 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 108.70% and a net margin of 8.00%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Griffon will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the conglomerate to purchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid 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 0.98%. This is a positive change from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 14.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,203,342.80. The trade was a 6.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Sight sold 3,660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total transaction of $279,697.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,825.36. The trade was a 17.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 606,742 shares of company stock worth $42,931,300. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,913 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,011 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 1.3% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,753 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased 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 acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.