Brokerages Set Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) PT at $103.50

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.50.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GFF. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research lowered Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Griffon in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, February 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total transaction of $1,431,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 119,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,428,653.68. This represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $295,180.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,333,792.80. This represents a 18.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GFF. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Griffon by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,546 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its position in Griffon by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 26,812 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after acquiring an additional 6,648 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Griffon by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,002,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $73,835,000 after acquiring an additional 293,278 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Griffon by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,412 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 2,701 shares during the period. Finally, VARCOV Co. acquired a new stake in Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $628,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Stock Performance

NYSE GFF opened at $88.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.28, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.55. Griffon has a fifty-two week low of $63.92 and a fifty-two week high of $97.58.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 228.83%. The firm had revenue of $649.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Griffon will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.65%.

Griffon Company Profile

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.