Stephens Raises Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Price Target to $100.00

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) had its price target lifted by Stephens from $85.00 to $100.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has an overweight rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.25.

Griffon Stock Performance

GFF opened at $73.81 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.31. Griffon has a 1 year low of $44.71 and a 1 year high of $80.85.

Griffon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This is an increase from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s payout ratio is currently 14.18%.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $6,226,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,260,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,754,045.96. This represents a 4.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $809,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 50,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,275,350. This trade represents a 19.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 606,742 shares of company stock valued at $42,931,300 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 14.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,014 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 62.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,724 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after purchasing an additional 18,256 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 353.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,123 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 11,787 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in Griffon by 46.9% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 18,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 5,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Griffon during the 1st quarter worth $640,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

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.