Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

GFF has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Griffon from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. TheStreet upgraded Griffon from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research report on Friday, November 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Griffon from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd.

Get Our Latest Report on Griffon

Griffon Stock Performance

GFF opened at $71.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $62.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. Griffon has a 12-month low of $25.97 and a 12-month high of $72.13.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.29. Griffon had a return on equity of 72.80% and a net margin of 2.65%. The company had revenue of $643.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $595.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Griffon's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Griffon will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Griffon declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the conglomerate to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Griffon news, Director James W. Sight sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.38, for a total value of $134,760.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,269,641.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 154,395 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $9,410,000 after purchasing an additional 4,729 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Griffon in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Griffon by 189.1% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 65,650 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,001,000 after acquiring an additional 42,941 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Griffon by 67.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 84,983 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $5,180,000 after acquiring an additional 34,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Griffon by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 50,893 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,102,000 after acquiring an additional 9,439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.88% of the company's stock.

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.

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