Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on GFF. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research note 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Griffon has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Griffon Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of GFF stock traded up $2.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $69.94. 682,249 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 441,178. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.33. Griffon has a fifty-two week low of $38.33 and a fifty-two week high of $77.99.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.94 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Griffon will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 1,205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.11, for a total transaction of $84,482.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 754,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,866,165.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $809,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,275,350. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 1,205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.11, for a total value of $84,482.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 754,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,866,165.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 209,251 shares of company stock valued at $13,658,297. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Griffon by 6.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 270,805 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $17,294,000 after purchasing an additional 16,740 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 98.7% during 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. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in Griffon by 94.3% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 128,870 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,230,000 after purchasing an additional 62,559 shares during the period. Barington Capital Group L.P. raised its stake in Griffon by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. now owns 30,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,916,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, Caxton Associates LP raised its stake in Griffon by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 36,687 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,498 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.