Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the eight analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.60.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GFF. Wall Street Zen raised Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. CJS Securities upgraded Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stephens boosted their target price on Griffon from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th.

Griffon Price Performance

GFF opened at $83.44 on Monday. Griffon has a 1 year low of $63.92 and a 1 year high of $86.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 83.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.99, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.66.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The conglomerate reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $662.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $631.47 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 181.66% and a net margin of 2.03%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Griffon will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Griffon’s payout ratio is 88.00%.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Griffon by 20.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,955 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,790,000 after purchasing an additional 15,925 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 9.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,447 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after buying an additional 2,047 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Griffon by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 85,035 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,080,000 after acquiring an additional 14,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Griffon during the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Griffon

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon’s portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon’s Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.