Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) Short Interest Update

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFFGet Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,670,000 shares, an increase of 29.0% from the October 15th total of 2,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 403,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.6 days. Approximately 6.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In other Griffon news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $6,226,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,260,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $140,754,045.96. This represents a 4.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert F. Mehmel sold 8,697 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.10, for a total value of $609,659.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 737,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,727,771.40. This trade represents a 1.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 578,082 shares of company stock valued at $40,777,353. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Griffon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Griffon by 98.7% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Griffon during the second quarter valued at about $55,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the first quarter valued at $65,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Griffon by 56.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GFF shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Griffon from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Griffon has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.25.

View Our Latest Research Report on Griffon

Griffon Price Performance

Griffon stock traded down $1.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $76.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 160,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 434,187. Griffon has a 12 month low of $44.71 and a 12 month high of $80.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $67.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Griffon Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This is a positive change from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.18%.

About Griffon

(Get Free Report)

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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