Ronald J. Kramer Sells 100,000 Shares of Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $6,226,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,260,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $140,754,045.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Griffon Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of Griffon stock opened at $66.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.29. Griffon Co. has a 52-week low of $38.33 and a 52-week high of $77.99. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.42.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.07). Griffon had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 96.05%. The business had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Griffon in the 4th quarter worth approximately $315,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Griffon by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Griffon by 194.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,973 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,583,000 after buying an additional 17,149 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Griffon by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 14,019 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 522,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares in 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.