Insider Selling: Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Director Sells $25,103.91 in Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Director Victor Eugene Renuart sold 767 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total value of $25,103.91. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $779,366.76. The trade was a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Victor Eugene Renuart also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, November 26th, Victor Eugene Renuart sold 4,500 shares of Griffon stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.46, for a total transaction of $380,070.00.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $84.30 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. Griffon Co. has a 1-year low of $45.70 and a 1-year high of $86.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.63.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.29. Griffon had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 108.70%. The firm had revenue of $659.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.24 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Griffon Co. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Griffon Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on GFF shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com raised Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 23rd. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter valued at about $65,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the first quarter valued at approximately $375,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Griffon by 659.0% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 26,452 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 66.7% during the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,764,000. 73.22% of the stock is 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.