StockNews.com Downgrades Griffon (NYSE:GFF) to Buy

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

GFF has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Griffon from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Griffon from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd.

Griffon Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of GFF stock traded down $1.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $70.68. 351,006 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,513. Griffon has a 12-month low of $25.97 and a 12-month high of $74.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. The company's 50-day moving average price is $67.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.41.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.29. Griffon had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 72.80%. The firm had revenue of $643.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $595.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Griffon will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James W. Sight sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.38, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GFF. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter worth approximately $299,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Griffon by 92.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 50,061 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 24,040 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Griffon by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 19,172 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,745 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Griffon by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 41,892 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Griffon by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 26,692 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 9,437 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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