Insider Selling: Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CFO Sells $880,055.40 in Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.10, for a total transaction of $880,055.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 199,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,203,342.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Griffon Stock Up 3.2 %

GFF stock opened at $70.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71. Griffon Co. has a twelve month low of $38.33 and a twelve month high of $77.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $66.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GFF. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Griffon by 98.7% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the second quarter worth approximately $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 65.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 842 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.