Insider Selling: Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Sells $2,748,467.41 in Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 39,247 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $2,748,467.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,221,499 shares in the company, valued at $155,571,574.97. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Griffon Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Griffon stock opened at $68.82 on Thursday. Griffon Co. has a fifty-two week low of $38.33 and a fifty-two week high of $77.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $66.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 1.29.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.07). Griffon had a return on equity of 96.05% and a net margin of 7.27%. The business had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GFF. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Griffon during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Griffon by 98.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Griffon in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Griffon by 65.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 842 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Griffon during the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on GFF shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com raised Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

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.