Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Robert W. Baird Analyst Says

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) had its price target lifted by Robert W. Baird from $92.00 to $100.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

GFF has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of GFF stock opened at $82.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.10. Griffon has a 52 week low of $45.70 and a 52 week high of $83.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $659.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.24 million. Griffon had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 108.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Griffon will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This is a boost from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Griffon’s payout ratio is 14.18%.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other Griffon news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $339,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 198,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,899,970. The trade was a 2.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.10, for a total transaction of $880,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 199,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,203,342.80. This represents a 6.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 603,517 shares of company stock valued at $42,818,506 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GFF. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Griffon by 74.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 473,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,144,000 after purchasing an additional 202,685 shares during the period. Lodge Hill Capital LLC increased its stake in Griffon by 190.3% in the second quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC now owns 251,700 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $16,074,000 after purchasing an additional 165,000 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Griffon by 112.1% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 283,800 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,123,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Griffon in the second quarter valued at $7,433,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 120.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 164,555 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $11,519,000 after acquiring an additional 89,948 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.