Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Sells $6,226,000.00 in Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $6,226,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,260,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $140,754,045.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Griffon Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of GFF stock opened at $66.84 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.93 and a 200 day moving average of $67.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $38.33 and a 1-year high of $77.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.29.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.07). Griffon had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 96.05%. The company had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.94 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s payout ratio is 15.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GFF shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at about $315,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Griffon by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 194.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,973 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,583,000 after buying an additional 17,149 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 14,019 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Griffon by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 522,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.