Griffon (NYSE:GFF) to Repurchase $400.00 million in Stock

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Griffon Price Performance

Shares of GFF opened at $73.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. Griffon has a 1 year low of $44.71 and a 1 year high of $80.85. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $67.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.82.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. This is a positive change from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GFF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens increased their target price on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Griffon has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.25.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In related news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $339,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 198,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,899,970. This trade represents a 2.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 25,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.97, for a total value of $1,874,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 712,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,447,162.58. This represents a 3.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 606,742 shares of company stock valued at $42,931,300 over the last 90 days. 16.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.