Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Earnings Beat

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $77.99 and last traded at $73.76, with a volume of 199124 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.75.

The conglomerate reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $672.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $625.22 million. Griffon had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 72.80%. The company’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is 44.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GFF. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Griffon from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Griffon from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Griffon from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target of $80.33.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GFF. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Griffon by 353.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,123 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 11,787 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Griffon by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,724 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,500,000 after purchasing an additional 18,256 shares in the last quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Griffon by 629.8% during the 1st quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC now owns 31,321 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,297,000 after purchasing an additional 27,029 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Griffon by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 24,113 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Griffon by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,014 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Griffon Trading Up 7.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.22 and a beta of 1.43.

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.