Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Buy" by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.20.

GFF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Griffon in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, May 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its holdings in Griffon by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 23,551 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,125 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Griffon in the 4th quarter worth about $21,451,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Griffon by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 538,200 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $38,358,000 after purchasing an additional 18,274 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Griffon by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 27,247 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 9,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Griffon by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 59,704 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,255,000 after purchasing an additional 4,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GFF traded down $2.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $67.65. 266,492 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 436,787. The company's 50 day moving average is $69.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44. Griffon has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $611.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.23 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 120.61% and a net margin of 9.13%. The company's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Griffon will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Griffon's payout ratio is presently 14.91%.

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.