Griffon Corporation Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.22 (NYSE:GFF)

Key Points

• Griffon announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share (annualized $0.88) payable June 17 to shareholders of record May 29, implying a yield of about 1.0% and a low payout ratio (~13.8%).
• The company beat the quarter with $1.05 EPS vs. $0.99 consensus and revenue of $421.9M topping estimates, but revenue fell 31% year‑over‑year; analysts project roughly $5.16–$5.58 in annual EPS going forward.
• Insiders reduced positions earlier this year (SVP Seth Kaplan sold 15,000 shares; a director sold 3,070), while institutional investors hold about 73.2% of the stock.

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.22 per share by the conglomerate on Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th.

Griffon has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Griffon has a payout ratio of 13.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Griffon to earn $5.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.8%.

Griffon Trading Down 2.1%

GFF traded down $1.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $90.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 405,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 345,916. Griffon has a 52-week low of $65.01 and a 52-week high of $97.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.57, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.46.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. Griffon had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 228.83%. The business had revenue of $421.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The company's revenue was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Griffon will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Griffon

In other Griffon news, SVP Seth L. Kaplan sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.44, for a total transaction of $1,431,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 119,747 shares in the company, valued at $11,428,653.68. The trade was a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Sight sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $295,180.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,333,792.80. The trade was a 18.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 10.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon in the first quarter worth about $29,000. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Griffon in the first quarter valued at about $21,070,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Griffon by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 391,441 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $28,450,000 after buying an additional 158,592 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Griffon by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,959 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Griffon by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 22,914 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Griffon

Griffon Corporation NYSE: GFF is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon's portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon's Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.

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