Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Short Interest Update

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) saw a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,320,000 shares, a decline of 13.1% from the October 31st total of 2,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 457,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Griffon Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of GFF traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $82.82. 191,880 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 437,981. Griffon has a 1 year low of $47.83 and a 1 year high of $86.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.88 and its 200-day moving average is $67.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.39.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The conglomerate reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $659.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.24 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 108.70% and a net margin of 8.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.02%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 23rd. Stephens increased their price objective on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 9,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.50, for a total value of $696,261.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 41,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,108,184. This represents a 18.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Victor Eugene Renuart sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.46, for a total value of $380,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,631,091.52. The trade was a 18.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 608,017 shares of company stock worth $43,198,576. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GFF. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 1st quarter valued at about $375,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 659.0% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 26,452 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 66.7% during the 2nd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,764,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon during the 2nd quarter valued at about $214,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

About Griffon

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.