Short Interest in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Increases By 29.0%

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,670,000 shares, a growth of 29.0% from the October 15th total of 2,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 403,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.6 days. Currently, 6.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $809,055.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 50,390 shares in the company, valued at $3,275,350. This trade represents a 19.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $339,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 198,571 shares in the company, valued at $13,899,970. The trade was a 2.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 578,082 shares of company stock valued at $40,777,353 over the last three months. 16.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Griffon during the first quarter worth $557,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Griffon by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $432,954,000 after acquiring an additional 38,707 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Griffon by 228.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 61,704 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 42,934 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,724 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after acquiring an additional 18,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Griffon by 659.0% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 26,452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Down 1.8 %

GFF stock traded down $1.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $76.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 160,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 434,187. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $67.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.78. Griffon has a twelve month low of $44.71 and a twelve month high of $80.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 1.31.

Griffon declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This is a positive change from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.25.

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.