Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $109.00 and last traded at $107.5830, with a volume of 5,819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Stephens increased their target price on Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Griffon from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $122.50.

Griffon Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.67 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $96.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.17. Griffon had a return on equity of 249.31% and a net margin of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $481.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $457.70 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Griffon Corporation will post 5.40 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Griffon news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 3,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.16, for a total value of $347,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 723,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,480,109.12. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $369,565.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,287,165.18. This trade represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 32,307 shares of company stock worth $3,437,707 over the last quarter. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GFF. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Griffon by 2,768.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 459 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon during the second quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

About Griffon

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified manufacturer and holding company that develops, manufactures and distributes products for the home, building and consumer markets. The company operates through its Home and Building Products and Consumer and Professional Products businesses.

Its Home and Building Products operations include garage doors, rolling steel doors, security grilles, shutters and related building products sold under brands such as Clopay, Cornell, Cookson and Wayne Dalton.