Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $74.31, but opened at $81.55. Griffon shares last traded at $83.33, with a volume of 25,812 shares trading hands.

The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 108.70%.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is 17.02%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GFF shares. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other Griffon news, Director Victor Eugene Renuart sold 4,500 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.46, for a total value of $380,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,631,091.52. The trade was a 18.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Sight sold 3,660 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total transaction of $279,697.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,825.36. This represents a 17.97 % 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 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GFF. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 49,109 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,437,000 after buying an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,913 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Griffon by 228.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,184 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 12,653 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.95.

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.