Stephens Boosts Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Price Target to $105.00

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) had its price target lifted by analysts at Stephens from $100.00 to $105.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the conglomerate’s stock. Stephens’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 32.91% from the company’s previous close.

GFF has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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.

Griffon Price Performance

GFF stock opened at $79.00 on Thursday. 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 has a one year low of $55.01 and a one year high of $86.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.00.

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

Griffon declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Griffon news, Director Victor Eugene Renuart sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.46, for a total transaction of $380,070.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,312 shares in the company, valued at $1,631,091.52. This trade represents a 18.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Sight sold 3,660 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total value of $279,697.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,825.36. This trade represents a 17.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 368,170 shares of company stock worth $27,421,146. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Griffon by 93.1% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 178.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 20,009 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 12,811 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the fourth quarter worth $43,325,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 120.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,481 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 16,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 18,274 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

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.