Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Griffon Corporation shares opened at $74.11, significantly lower than the previous closing price of $82.34, and were last trading at $70.97, reflecting a 10.8% decline.
• Despite the drop in share price, Griffon received several analyst upgrades, with a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a price target of $98.20 among analysts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.0%, contributing to its dividend payout ratio of 14.91%.

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $82.34, but opened at $74.11. Griffon shares last traded at $70.97, with a volume of 138,970 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GFF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $98.20.

Griffon Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $74.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.58. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Griffon by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 234,035 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $16,734,000 after purchasing an additional 5,243 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its stake in shares of Griffon by 26.6% in the first quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 29,811 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,131,000 after buying an additional 6,260 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Griffon during the first quarter valued at about $53,994,000. Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new position in Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,010,000. Finally, Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 20,829 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 3,545 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

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.