Brian G. Harris Sells 13,314 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.10, for a total transaction of $880,055.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 199,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,203,342.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $67.93 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.34. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $38.33 and a 1-year high of $77.99. 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 (NYSE:GFF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.07). Griffon had a return on equity of 96.05% and a net margin of 7.27%. The firm had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.94 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s payout ratio is 15.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in Griffon by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,011 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 0.5% in the first quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 39,526 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,899,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 1.3% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,753 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Griffon by 2.2% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 14,562 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Griffon by 3.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,074 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

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.