Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday.

Griffon Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of GFF opened at $79.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.66. Griffon has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $86.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.00.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 108.70% and a net margin of 8.00%. On average, analysts forecast that Griffon will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to purchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In related news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 67,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total transaction of $4,706,853.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,102,503 shares in the company, valued at $147,343,410.24. This represents a 3.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Victor Eugene Renuart sold 4,500 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.46, for a total value of $380,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,631,091.52. This represents a 18.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 368,170 shares of company stock valued at $27,421,146 in the last ninety days. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in Griffon by 5.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,913 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 5,733 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Griffon by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,780 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,435,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.