Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $97.58 and last traded at $97.4340, with a volume of 30776 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $94.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GFF. Zacks Research raised Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.00.

Griffon Stock Up 1.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 741.43 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $88.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $421.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $414.63 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 298.42% and a net margin of 0.31%.Griffon’s quarterly revenue was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 676.92%.

Insider Activity

In other Griffon news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 5,501 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.18, for a total transaction of $523,585.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 809,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,075,621.84. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.92, for a total transaction of $9,492,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,784,297 shares in the company, valued at $169,365,471.24. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 112,338 shares of company stock valued at $10,667,788 over the last 90 days. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 149.6% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 352 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Griffon during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Griffon by 645.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 447 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Griffon by 362.6% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 495 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Griffon

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon’s portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon’s Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.