Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Hits New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $82.50 and last traded at $82.50, with a volume of 374 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $80.52.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $87.25.

Griffon Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Insider Activity

In other Griffon news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $809,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 50,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,275,350. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 912 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.06, for a total value of $63,894.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 746,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,307,566.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $809,055.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 50,390 shares in the company, valued at $3,275,350. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 578,082 shares of company stock valued at $40,777,353 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Griffon by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $432,954,000 after acquiring an additional 38,707 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Griffon by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,379,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $88,066,000 after purchasing an additional 19,644 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Griffon by 9.6% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 631,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,350,000 after buying an additional 55,100 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Griffon by 7.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 519,926 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,395,000 after buying an additional 34,525 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in Griffon by 112.1% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 283,800 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,123,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.