Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $77.99 and last traded at $73.76, with a volume of 199124 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.75.
The conglomerate reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.51. Griffon had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 72.80%. The company had revenue of $672.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $625.22 million. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share.
Griffon Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 29th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Griffon's payout ratio is 44.78%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Griffon from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Griffon from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Griffon from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $69.50.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Griffon
Insider Buying and Selling at Griffon
In other news, Director James W. Sight sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.38, for a total transaction of $134,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,269,641.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of Griffon
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 671.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 640 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rock Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth $98,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,336 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company's stock.
Griffon Trading Up 7.2 %
The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.22 and a beta of 1.43. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $69.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.24.
About Griffon
(
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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.
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