Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Short Interest Update

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,730,000 shares, a growth of 5.5% from the August 31st total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 475,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

Griffon Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of GFF stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.47. 282,826 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 437,849. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.34. Griffon has a twelve month low of $38.33 and a twelve month high of $77.99.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Griffon will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 3,121 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $218,470.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,178,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,482,400. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $809,055.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,275,350. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 3,121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $218,470.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,178,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,482,400. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 252,720 shares of company stock valued at $16,701,903. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 98.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Griffon during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Griffon by 65.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 842 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Griffon during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

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.