Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Short Interest Update

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,670,000 shares, an increase of 29.0% from the October 15th total of 2,070,000 shares. Approximately 6.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 403,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.6 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James W. Sight sold 3,660 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.42, for a total value of $279,697.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,825.36. The trade was a 17.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 4,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $339,080.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 606,742 shares of company stock valued at $42,931,300 over the last ninety days. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Griffon by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,014 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Griffon by 62.0% in 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 period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Griffon by 353.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,123 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 11,787 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in Griffon by 46.9% during 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 buying an additional 5,880 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at about $640,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Griffon Stock Performance

Griffon stock opened at $73.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.31. Griffon has a 12-month low of $44.71 and a 12-month high of $80.85. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $67.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.83.

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

Griffon Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GFF shares. StockNews.com lowered Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.25.

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.