Griffon Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.18 (NYSE:GFF)

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 8th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of 0.18 per share by the conglomerate on Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th.

Griffon has raised its dividend by an average of 24.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Griffon has a payout ratio of 11.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Griffon to earn $6.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.2%.

Griffon Trading Up 2.9%

Griffon stock opened at $69.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.46. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 1.17. Griffon has a 52 week low of $55.01 and a 52 week high of $86.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.44.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The conglomerate reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $611.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.23 million. Griffon had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 120.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GFF shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Griffon in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Stephens upped their price objective on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital raised shares of Griffon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Griffon has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Griffon in the 1st quarter worth $49,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Griffon by 9.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,447 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Griffon by 21.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 85,035 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,080,000 after purchasing an additional 14,764 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Griffon by 20.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,955 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,790,000 after purchasing an additional 15,925 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.22% 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.