Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon (NYSE:GFF) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on GFF. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Griffon from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Griffon from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Griffon from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Griffon currently has an average rating of Strong Buy and an average target price of $69.50.

Griffon Stock Up 0.6 %

GFF stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $69.13. The company had a trading volume of 250,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 316,661. Griffon has a 52 week low of $29.11 and a 52 week high of $75.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.59 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.32.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.29. Griffon had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 72.80%. The business had revenue of $643.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Griffon will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James W. Sight sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.38, for a total value of $134,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,269,641.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,058,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 39,526 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,899,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Griffon by 65.1% in the 1st 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. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 1.2% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,566 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,168,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently 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.