Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Shares Break Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Griffon shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $95.51 and last trading around $94.26 versus the moving average of $90.27.
• Analyst sentiment is strongly bullish: recent firms upgraded the stock or raised targets, contributing to a consensus “Strong Buy” rating and an average price target of $122.50.
• Griffon beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, though revenue fell 21.5% year over year. The company also pays a $0.22 quarterly dividend, while insiders sold roughly $17.5 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $90.27 and traded as high as $95.51. Griffon shares last traded at $94.2570, with a volume of 262,831 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GFF. Stephens raised their price objective on Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Griffon from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.50.

Griffon Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05 and a beta of 1.49. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $97.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.27.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $481.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $457.70 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 249.31% and a net margin of 8.08%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Griffon news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 22,209 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.08, for a total value of $2,267,094.72. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 763,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,957,577.28. This represents a 2.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $369,565.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,602 shares in the company, valued at $4,287,165.18. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 169,368 shares of company stock valued at $17,508,936 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Griffon during the second quarter valued at $590,633,000. Voss Capital LP raised its position in shares of Griffon by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,760,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $129,624,000 after acquiring an additional 225,000 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the second quarter worth about $40,177,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 547,351 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $39,781,000 after acquiring an additional 87,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,536,000. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Company Profile

Griffon Corporation is a diversified holding company that primarily operates in the home and building products industry. Through its Clopay Building Products business, the company manufactures and markets residential garage doors, commercial sectional doors, rolling steel doors, security grilles and related access products.

Its products are sold under brands including Clopay, Holmes, Ideal Door, Cornell and Cookson. Griffon serves residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers through distribution networks, dealers, builders and other sales channels in North America and selected international markets.

Griffon has historically operated additional businesses, including the AMES Companies, a manufacturer of lawn and garden tools, and Telephonics Corporation, a defense electronics provider.

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