Insider Selling: Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Sells 6,532 Shares of Stock

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 6,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.06, for a total transaction of $457,631.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,169,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,006,870.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Griffon Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GFF opened at $67.71 on Monday. Griffon Co. has a 52-week low of $38.33 and a 52-week high of $77.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71. The business has a fifty day moving average of $66.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87 and a beta of 1.29.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Griffon Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on GFF shares. StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 12th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Griffon from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 65.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 842 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $482,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 225,483 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 12,185 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,566 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,168,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.