Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on GFF. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price target on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Griffon from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $122.50.

Griffon Stock Up 2.9%

Griffon stock opened at $92.36 on Monday. Griffon has a 1-year low of $65.01 and a 1-year high of $108.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56 and a beta of 1.49.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $481.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $457.70 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 249.31% and a net margin of 8.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Griffon will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Griffon news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 22,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.08, for a total value of $2,267,094.72. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 763,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,957,577.28. This trade represents a 2.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.42, for a total value of $10,242,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,684,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $172,505,698.74. This represents a 5.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 169,368 shares of company stock worth $17,508,936 over the last quarter. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Griffon during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 362.6% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 495 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Griffon in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 41.3% in the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 647 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. 73.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Griffon

Griffon Corporation is a diversified holding company that primarily operates in the home and building products industry. Through its Clopay Building Products business, the company manufactures and markets residential garage doors, commercial sectional doors, rolling steel doors, security grilles and related access products.

Its products are sold under brands including Clopay, Holmes, Ideal Door, Cornell and Cookson. Griffon serves residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers through distribution networks, dealers, builders and other sales channels in North America and selected international markets.

Griffon has historically operated additional businesses, including the AMES Companies, a manufacturer of lawn and garden tools, and Telephonics Corporation, a defense electronics provider.