Griffon (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert Mehmel Sells 7,743 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Griffon COO Robert Mehmel sold 7,743 shares at an average price of $107.62, totaling about $833,302. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; he retained 715,289 shares.
• Griffon’s latest reported quarter beat earnings and revenue estimates, with EPS of $1.51 versus $1.34 expected and revenue of $481.4 million versus $457.7 million. However, revenue declined 21.5% year over year.
• Analysts have a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $122.50. Shares traded down 1.2% to $101.18 on Friday.

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) COO Robert Mehmel sold 7,743 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.62, for a total transaction of $833,301.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 715,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $76,979,402.18. The trade was a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Griffon Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE GFF traded down $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $101.18. 175,331 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 348,227. The business's 50 day moving average is $96.22 and its 200-day moving average is $89.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.41. Griffon Corporation has a 12-month low of $65.01 and a 12-month high of $109.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81 and a beta of 1.50.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.17. Griffon had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 249.31%. The firm had revenue of $481.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $457.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Griffon's revenue for the quarter was down 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.40 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 40,832 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,799,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 49.9% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,438 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 2,808 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon in the third quarter valued at $956,000. Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in Griffon by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 5,243 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Griffon during the third quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on GFF shares. Stephens increased their price target on Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Griffon from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Griffon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $122.50.

About Griffon

Griffon Corporation NYSE: GFF is a diversified manufacturer and holding company that develops, manufactures and distributes products for the home, building and consumer markets. The company operates through its Home and Building Products and Consumer and Professional Products businesses.

Its Home and Building Products operations include garage doors, rolling steel doors, security grilles, shutters and related building products sold under brands such as Clopay, Cornell, Cookson and Wayne Dalton.

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