Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Given Average Recommendation of “Strong Buy” by Analysts

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) has been given an average recommendation of “Strong Buy” by the four brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.75.

Several research firms recently issued reports on GFF. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Griffon in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Loop Capital raised shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total transaction of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Griffon by 95,382.7% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 624,457 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $44,505,000 after acquiring an additional 623,803 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,325,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $21,451,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 892,124 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $63,582,000 after acquiring an additional 236,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Griffon by 74.8% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 473,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,144,000 after purchasing an additional 202,685 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of GFF stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $71.56. 39,603 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 424,812. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 1.40. Griffon has a 12 month low of $55.01 and a 12 month high of $86.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.87.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.69%.

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.