Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Griffon Corporation has received an average consensus recommendation of "Buy" from five brokerages, with a projected price target of $98.20 over the next year.
• Despite recent downgrades from some analysts, significant institutional investment has been noted, with 73.22% of stock owned by hedge funds and other large investors.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.9%, with record date for shareholders set for August 29th.

Shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Buy" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.20.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GFF. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the second quarter worth approximately $1,380,000. State of Wyoming increased its position in Griffon by 64.9% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,093 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in Griffon in the second quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Griffon by 6.3% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 133,039 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $9,628,000 after buying an additional 7,934 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Griffon by 96.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,916 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 1,927 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Price Performance

Griffon stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $76.54. 148,990 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 393,172. Griffon has a 12-month low of $60.97 and a 12-month high of $86.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.07, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.15. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $76.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.58, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The conglomerate reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Griffon had a return on equity of 144.21% and a net margin of 2.78%.The business had revenue of $613.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Griffon will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Griffon's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.73%.

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.