Analyzing Griffon (GFF) & The Competition

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) is one of 52 publicly-traded companies in the “DIVERSIFIED OPS” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Griffon to related companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Risk and Volatility

Griffon has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Griffon’s competitors have a beta of 0.80, suggesting that their average stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Griffon and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Griffon	9.06%	114.46%	10.83%
Griffon Competitors	-21.73%	-39.10%	-6.91%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

73.2% of Griffon shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.2% of shares of all “DIVERSIFIED OPS” companies are held by institutional investors. 10.2% of Griffon shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 30.4% of shares of all “DIVERSIFIED OPS” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Griffon pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Griffon pays out 14.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “DIVERSIFIED OPS” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.7% and pay out 29.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Griffon has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Griffon and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Griffon	$2.62 billion	$209.90 million	16.71
Griffon Competitors	$13.29 billion	$972.71 million	43.91

Griffon’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Griffon. Griffon is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Griffon and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Griffon	0	0	3	2	3.40
Griffon Competitors	202	880	1650	64	2.56

Griffon presently has a consensus price target of $98.20, suggesting a potential upside of 21.64%. As a group, “DIVERSIFIED OPS” companies have a potential upside of 2.53%. Given Griffon’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Griffon is more favorable than its competitors.

Summary

Griffon beats its competitors on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

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. The segment also sells related products, such as garage door openers. The Consumer and Professional Products segment manufactures and markets long-handled engineered tools, including spades, hoes, cultivators, weeders, post hole diggers, scrapers, edgers and forks; wheelbarrows and lawn carts; snow tools comprising pushers, roof rakes, sled sleigh shovels, scoops, and ice scrapers; and pruning products, such as pruners, loppers, shears, and other tools. The segment also offers striking tools, including axes, picks, mattocks, mauls, wood splitters, sledgehammers, pry bars, and repair handles; traditional and gardening hand tools comprising hammers, screwdrivers, pliers, adjustable wrenches, handsaws, tape measures, levels, clamps, trowels, cultivators, weeders, and other hand tools; indoor and outdoor planters and lawn accessories; and garden hoses and hose reels. In addition, the segment provides home organization products, including wire and wood shelving, containers, storage cabinets, and other closet and home organization accessories; residential, industrial, and commercial fans; and cleaning products, such as brooms, brushes, squeegees, and other cleaning products. The company was formerly known as Instrument Systems Corporation and changed its name to Griffon Corporation in June 1992. Griffon Corporation was founded in 1774 and is headquartered in New York, New York.