Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Griffon a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from six firms (1 sell, 1 hold, 2 buy, 2 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $107.67.
• Company insiders sold shares in February — SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares at about $95.44 and director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares at about $96.15 — and insiders now own 10.20% of the stock.
• Griffon beat the quarter with $1.45 EPS (vs. $1.34 est.) and $649.1M revenue (vs. $618.4M est.), but trades at a high P/E (~99) and carries a modest 1.0% dividend yield with a 95.7% payout ratio.

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $107.6667.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $108.00 price objective on Griffon in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Stephens lifted their price target on Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total transaction of $1,431,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 119,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,428,653.68. The trade was a 11.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $295,180.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,333,792.80. This represents a 18.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GFF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Griffon by 149.6% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 352 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 645.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 447 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 362.6% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 495 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Stock Up 2.6%

GFF stock opened at $91.07 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.85. Griffon has a 12 month low of $65.01 and a 12 month high of $97.58. The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.98, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.46.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 228.83% and a net margin of 1.76%.The business had revenue of $649.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $618.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Griffon will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is 95.65%.

About Griffon

Griffon Corporation NYSE: GFF is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon's portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon's Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.

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