Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert F. Mehmel Sells 8,697 Shares

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 8,697 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.10, for a total value of $609,659.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 737,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,727,771.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Griffon Price Performance

NYSE:GFF opened at $80.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 1.31. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $44.03 and a 1-year high of $80.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71.

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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. This is a boost from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GFF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 86,767 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,074,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the third quarter worth approximately $364,000. Cynosure Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the third quarter valued at approximately $367,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 6.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 39,761 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Griffon by 430.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 23,897 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 19,396 shares during the last quarter. 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.