Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald J. Kramer Sells 300 Shares

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 300 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.07, for a total transaction of $21,021.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,176,199 shares in the company, valued at $152,486,263.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Griffon Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GFF traded up $0.85 on Friday, hitting $69.18. 204,292 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 435,008. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.35. 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 company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 1.29. Griffon Co. has a 52 week low of $38.33 and a 52 week high of $77.99.

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). The firm had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.94 million. Griffon had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 96.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the first quarter worth approximately $557,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Griffon in the first quarter worth approximately $4,013,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Griffon by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $432,954,000 after purchasing an additional 38,707 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Griffon during the 4th quarter valued at $1,830,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 228.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 61,704 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after buying an additional 42,934 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.