Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $109.00 and last traded at $107.5830, with a volume of 5,819 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $102.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GFF shares. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Griffon from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $122.50.

Griffon Stock Down 1.2%

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81 and a beta of 1.50.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.17. Griffon had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 249.31%. The company had revenue of $481.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $457.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other Griffon news, Director Cheryl Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.12, for a total transaction of $318,360.00. Following the sale, the director owned 30,039 shares in the company, valued at $3,187,738.68. This represents a 9.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kevin Sullivan sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $369,565.00. Following the sale, the director owned 40,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,287,165.18. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,122 shares of company stock worth $2,561,138. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of Griffon by 1.0% during the first quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 16,432 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,576 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Griffon by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 40,832 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,799,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in Griffon by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 5,520 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Griffon during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

About Griffon

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified manufacturer and holding company that develops, manufactures and distributes products for the home, building and consumer markets. The company operates through its Home and Building Products and Consumer and Professional Products businesses.

Its Home and Building Products operations include garage doors, rolling steel doors, security grilles, shutters and related building products sold under brands such as Clopay, Cornell, Cookson and Wayne Dalton.