Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $69.67 and traded as high as $77.02. Griffon shares last traded at $75.69, with a volume of 203,587 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on GFF shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stephens lifted their target price on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Griffon Trading Up 1.9 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.29. Griffon had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 108.70%. The business had revenue of $659.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Griffon Co. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Griffon’s payout ratio is currently 17.02%.

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to repurchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon

In related news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $415,564.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,561,316.28. This trade represents a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 67,164 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total transaction of $4,706,853.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,102,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,343,410.24. This represents a 3.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 365,170 shares of company stock valued at $27,178,746 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP increased 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 acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Griffon during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $70,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Griffon by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Griffon by 1,024.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in Griffon by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,880 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Griffon

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.