Griffon Co. (GFF) To Go Ex-Dividend on February 25th

Griffon Co. (NYSE:GFF) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of 0.18 per share by the conglomerate on Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th.

Griffon has increased its dividend by an average of 24.1% annually over the last three years. Griffon has a payout ratio of 11.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Griffon to earn $6.39 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 11.3%.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of Griffon stock opened at $80.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $76.03 and its 200-day moving average is $70.95. Griffon has a one year low of $55.01 and a one year high of $86.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.74, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.11. Griffon had a return on equity of 108.70% and a net margin of 8.00%. Equities analysts predict that Griffon will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GFF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Griffon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Griffon in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Griffon from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Griffon announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Victor Eugene Renuart sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.46, for a total transaction of $380,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,631,091.52. This represents a 18.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 67,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total value of $4,706,853.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,102,503 shares in the company, valued at $147,343,410.24. This trade represents a 3.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 365,170 shares of company stock valued at $27,178,746. 10.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.