Wall Street brokerages expect Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) to announce sales of $554.92 million for the current quarter, according to Zacks . Three analysts have provided estimates for Griffon’s earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $560.10 million and the lowest estimate coming in at $550.77 million. Griffon reported sales of $478.56 million during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 16%. The business is scheduled to report its next earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd.
On average, analysts expect that Griffon will report full year sales of $2.20 billion for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $2.19 billion to $2.22 billion. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the firm will report sales of $2.29 billion, with estimates ranging from $2.26 billion to $2.32 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales calculations are an average based on a survey of research firms that cover Griffon.
Get Griffon alerts: Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 31st. The conglomerate reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.14. Griffon had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 5.04%. The firm had revenue of $510.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $518.74 million.
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Griffon from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 target price on Griffon and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, October 30th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Sidoti dropped their target price on Griffon from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Griffon has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.20.
In other news, Chairman Ronald J. Kramer acquired 29,997 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.12 per share, for a total transaction of $363,563.64. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 2,280,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,644,907.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink . Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer acquired 19,997 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.20 per share, for a total transaction of $243,963.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,280,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,827,382.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here . Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 95,044 shares of company stock worth $1,156,164. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GFF. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in Griffon in the 4th quarter worth about $134,000. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in Griffon in the 3rd quarter worth about $229,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Griffon by 34.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 13,714 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 3,542 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Griffon in the 4th quarter worth about $316,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Griffon by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,109 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 7,671 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.66% of the company’s stock.
Shares of NYSE:GFF traded down $0.10 during trading on Monday, reaching $16.40. 289,923 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 319,463. Griffon has a fifty-two week low of $9.65 and a fifty-two week high of $23.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $771.60 million, a PE ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 2.04.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 21st will be issued a $0.0725 dividend. This represents a $0.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 20th. Griffon’s payout ratio is 38.16%.
About Griffon
Griffon Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the home and building products, and defense electronics businesses primarily in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and China. The company's Home & Building Products segment manufactures and markets wood and wire closet organization, general living storage, and wire garage storage products to home center retail chains, mass merchandisers, and direct-to builder professional installers; residential and commercial garage doors to professional dealers and various home center retail chains; and rolling steel door and grille products designed for commercial, industrial, institutional, and retail uses, as well as long-handled tools and landscaping products for homeowners and professionals.
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