Cheryl L. Turnbull Sells 3,000 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Director Cheryl L. Turnbull sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.80, for a total transaction of $242,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,482,984. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Griffon Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of GFF opened at $79.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.43. Griffon Co. has a 12 month low of $55.01 and a 12 month high of $86.73.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 108.70% and a net margin of 8.00%. Equities analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GFF shares. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens boosted their price objective on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 343.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 56.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 1,024.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.