Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Director Sells $242,400.00 in Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Griffon Stock Performance

GFF opened at $79.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.99. Griffon Co. has a 1 year low of $55.01 and a 1 year high of $86.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 1.43.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. Research analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 14.69%.

Griffon announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the conglomerate to purchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on GFF. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in Griffon by 1,024.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in Griffon by 22.4% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 49,109 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,437,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in Griffon by 5.0% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,913 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Griffon by 228.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,184 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after buying an additional 12,653 shares during the period. 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.