Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Loop Capital upgraded Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.75.

Griffon Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of GFF stock opened at $70.94 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $74.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.40. Griffon has a fifty-two week low of $55.01 and a fifty-two week high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. Research analysts expect that Griffon will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given 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 payout ratio is 14.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in Griffon by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,335,000 after acquiring an additional 19,291 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its position in Griffon by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,125 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Griffon by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $108,914,000 after acquiring an additional 61,210 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Griffon by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 538,200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $38,358,000 after acquiring an additional 18,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Griffon by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,907 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $24,423,000 after acquiring an additional 61,399 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is 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.