Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $74.31, but opened at $81.55. Griffon shares last traded at $83.33, with a volume of 25,812 shares.

The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 108.70% and a net margin of 8.00%.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.02%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GFF shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 23rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Griffon news, CAO W. Christopher Durborow sold 5,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $415,564.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,561,316.28. The trade was a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 67,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total value of $4,706,853.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,102,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,343,410.24. The trade was a 3.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 365,170 shares of company stock worth $27,178,746 in the last ninety days. 10.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Griffon

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Griffon by 56.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Griffon by 1,024.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Griffon by 86.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Stock Up 10.0 %

The company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70 and a beta of 1.43. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $76.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.81.

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.