Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) COO Sells $882,583.17 in Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 12,943 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.19, for a total transaction of $882,583.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 762,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,023,105.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Griffon Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE GFF traded up $2.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $70.03. The company had a trading volume of 550,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 432,342. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.35. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $38.33 and a 1-year high of $77.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.07). Griffon had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 96.05%. The company had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Griffon’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 6.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 270,805 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $17,294,000 after purchasing an additional 16,740 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in Griffon by 98.7% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Griffon by 94.3% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 128,870 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,230,000 after buying an additional 62,559 shares during the last quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. now owns 30,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,916,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 36,687 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,498 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GFF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

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.