Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Griffon shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $98.36 and last trading near $97.67, compared with a 200-day average of $88.80.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $122.50; Stephens raised its target to $120 and Zacks upgraded the stock to “Strong Buy.”
• Griffon exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted earnings of $1.51 per share and revenue of $481.37 million, while maintaining a $0.22 quarterly dividend; however, revenue fell 21.5% year over year and insiders sold shares recently.

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $88.80 and traded as high as $98.36. Griffon shares last traded at $97.6680, with a volume of 402,357 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GFF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens boosted their target price on Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Griffon from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $122.50.

Griffon Trading Up 2.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92 and a beta of 1.45. The business's fifty day moving average is $96.71 and its 200-day moving average is $88.80.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.17. Griffon had a return on equity of 249.31% and a net margin of 8.08%.The firm had revenue of $481.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $457.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. The firm'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 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kevin Sullivan sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $369,565.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,287,165.18. This trade represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ronald Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.42, for a total transaction of $10,242,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,684,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $172,505,698.74. This trade represents a 5.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 181,693 shares of company stock worth $18,699,528 over the last three months. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,265,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. boosted its position in Griffon by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 415,531 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $30,201,000 after purchasing an additional 124,750 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 29.0% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,910 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,264,000 after acquiring an additional 10,094 shares during the period. OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the first quarter valued at $1,547,000. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Griffon during the second quarter worth about $5,332,000. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Griffon Company Profile

Griffon Corporation NYSE: GFF is a diversified holding company that manufactures and distributes products for residential, commercial and industrial markets. Its operations are organized primarily around home and building products, as well as consumer and professional products, with sales in North America and international markets.

Through its building-products businesses, Griffon offers garage doors, rolling steel doors, security grilles, shutters and related access products. Its brands include Clopay, Cornell and Cookson, which serve residential, commercial and industrial customers through dealers, distributors, contractors and other channels.

Griffon's consumer and professional products operations include garden and landscaping tools, outdoor equipment and ceiling fans.

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