Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $115.00.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 price objective on Griffon in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on Griffon from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th.

Griffon Price Performance

GFF stock opened at $88.29 on Friday. Griffon has a 12-month low of $65.01 and a 12-month high of $97.58. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $82.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.20. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 679.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. Griffon had a net margin of 0.31% and a return on equity of 298.42%. The firm had revenue of $421.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $414.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 676.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,955 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,790,000 after purchasing an additional 15,925 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,447 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 85,035 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,080,000 after purchasing an additional 14,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Company Profile

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon’s portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon’s Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.