Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Announces Earnings Results

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11, Zacks reports. Griffon had a return on equity of 108.70% and a net margin of 8.00%.

Griffon Price Performance

Griffon stock traded up $7.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $81.47. 227,062 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 307,642. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.81. The firm has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27 and a beta of 1.43. Griffon has a 1-year low of $55.01 and a 1-year high of $86.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Griffon’s payout ratio is 17.02%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Griffon news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 9,222 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.50, for a total value of $696,261.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,108,184. The trade was a 18.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Sight sold 3,660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total value of $279,697.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,825.36. This trade represents a 17.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 365,170 shares of company stock worth $27,178,746 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GFF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 23rd.

About Griffon

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.