Insider Selling: Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Sells 3,121 Shares of Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 3,121 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $218,470.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,178,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,482,400. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Griffon Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE GFF traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $69.47. 282,826 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 437,849. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39 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’s 50-day moving average is $66.26 and its 200-day moving average is $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.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. Griffon’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on GFF shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the first quarter worth approximately $557,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at $4,013,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $432,954,000 after buying an additional 38,707 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,830,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Griffon by 228.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 61,704 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after buying an additional 42,934 shares during the period. 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.