Short Interest in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Decreases By 14.1%

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) saw a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,890,000 shares, a decline of 14.1% from the February 13th total of 2,200,000 shares. Approximately 4.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 363,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.2 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total value of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at $2,482,984. The trade was a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Griffon during the fourth quarter valued at about $259,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Griffon during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,960,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Griffon by 154.6% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 25,403 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after buying an additional 15,426 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in Griffon by 116.1% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 376 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in Griffon during the fourth quarter valued at about $259,000. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Price Performance

GFF opened at $71.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.30. Griffon has a 1 year low of $55.01 and a 1 year high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Griffon will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on GFF. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $98.75.

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.