Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $90.27 and traded as high as $95.51. Griffon shares last traded at $94.2570, with a volume of 262,831 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on GFF shares. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on Griffon in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Griffon from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Griffon presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.50.

Griffon Stock Down 1.9%

The firm has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53 and a beta of 1.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $97.66 and its 200-day moving average is $90.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.41.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $481.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $457.70 million. Griffon had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 249.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Griffon Corporation will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is 22.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Griffon news, COO Robert Mehmel sold 3,240 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.16, for a total value of $347,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 723,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,480,109.12. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Kevin Sullivan sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $369,565.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,287,165.18. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 169,368 shares of company stock valued at $17,508,936. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at about $590,633,000. Voss Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,760,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $129,624,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in shares of Griffon during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,177,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 18.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 547,351 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $39,781,000 after purchasing an additional 87,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,536,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Company Profile

Griffon Corporation is a diversified holding company that primarily operates in the home and building products industry. Through its Clopay Building Products business, the company manufactures and markets residential garage doors, commercial sectional doors, rolling steel doors, security grilles and related access products.

Its products are sold under brands including Clopay, Holmes, Ideal Door, Cornell and Cookson. Griffon serves residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers through distribution networks, dealers, builders and other sales channels in North America and selected international markets.

Griffon has historically operated additional businesses, including the AMES Companies, a manufacturer of lawn and garden tools, and Telephonics Corporation, a defense electronics provider.