Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) COO Sells $882,583.17 in Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 12,943 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.19, for a total value of $882,583.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 762,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,023,105.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of GFF traded up $2.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $70.03. 550,403 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 432,342. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $66.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.35. Griffon Co. has a 12-month low of $38.33 and a 12-month high of $77.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Griffon’s payout ratio is 15.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of 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 lowered shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

About Griffon

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.