Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $68.12, but opened at $73.00. Griffon shares last traded at $75.29, with a volume of 243,727 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Griffon’s payout ratio is currently 16.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GFF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.50.

Griffon Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.01 and its 200 day moving average is $66.70. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.10, for a total transaction of $880,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 199,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,203,342.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Griffon news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 241,757 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.35, for a total transaction of $18,216,389.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,860,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $140,207,211.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian G. Harris sold 13,314 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.10, for a total transaction of $880,055.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 199,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,203,342.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 578,082 shares of company stock valued at $40,777,353 in the last quarter. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 1st quarter worth about $557,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Griffon by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $432,954,000 after purchasing an additional 38,707 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Griffon by 228.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 61,704 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 42,934 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Griffon by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,724 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after acquiring an additional 18,256 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Griffon by 659.0% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 26,452 shares during the period. 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.