Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on GFF. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $79.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.66. Griffon has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $86.73. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.93 and its 200-day moving average is $71.00.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 108.70% and a net margin of 8.00%. Sell-side analysts predict that Griffon will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $415,564.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,306 shares in the company, valued at $3,561,316.28. The trade was a 10.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victor Eugene Renuart sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.46, for a total value of $380,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,631,091.52. This represents a 18.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 368,170 shares of company stock worth $27,421,146 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GFF. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Griffon by 4.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,555,908 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $108,914,000 after acquiring an additional 61,210 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Griffon by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 877,840 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $61,463,000 after purchasing an additional 30,264 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Griffon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,325,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 538,200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $38,358,000 after purchasing an additional 18,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 74.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 473,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,144,000 after purchasing an additional 202,685 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.