Insider Selling: Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Sells 300 Shares of Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.07, for a total transaction of $21,021.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,176,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,486,263.93. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Griffon Price Performance

GFF stock traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.18. 204,292 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 435,008. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.35. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $38.33 and a 12 month high of $77.99.

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

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 15.83%.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 98.7% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 65.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 842 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the second quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Griffon during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GFF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.