Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Earns “Strong-Buy” Rating from Raymond James

Griffon (NYSE:GFF)‘s stock had its “strong-buy” rating reiterated by Raymond James in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $95.00 price target on the conglomerate’s stock, up from their prior price target of $92.00. Raymond James’ price target indicates a potential upside of 20.25% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on GFF. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price 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 Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE GFF opened at $79.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.43. Griffon has a 1 year low of $55.01 and a 1 year high of $86.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.00.

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

Griffon declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the conglomerate to purchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In related news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $415,564.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 44,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,561,316.28. This trade represents a 10.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 67,164 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total transaction of $4,706,853.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,102,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,343,410.24. The trade was a 3.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 368,170 shares of company stock valued at $27,421,146 over the last ninety days. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Griffon during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 343.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 56.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 1,024.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. 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.