Robert F. Mehmel Sells 3,265 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 3,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.04, for a total transaction of $228,680.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 747,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,362,394.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of Griffon stock opened at $68.52 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.34. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09 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 earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.94 million. Griffon had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 96.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 15.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Griffon during the 4th quarter worth $20,531,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its position in shares of Griffon by 46.5% during the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 10,650 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 3,380 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,830,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,206,000. 73.22% of the stock is 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.