Short Interest in Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Rises By 29.0%

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,670,000 shares, a growth of 29.0% from the October 15th total of 2,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 403,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days. Currently, 6.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GFF. StockNews.com lowered shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $87.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Griffon news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $6,226,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,260,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,754,045.96. This represents a 4.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $809,055.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 50,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,275,350. The trade was a 19.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 606,742 shares of company stock valued at $42,931,300. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Griffon by 98.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the second quarter worth approximately $55,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Griffon during the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Price Performance

Griffon stock opened at $73.81 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.31. Griffon has a 12-month low of $44.71 and a 12-month high of $80.85.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Griffon’s payout ratio is 14.18%.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.