Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $66.86, but opened at $70.91. Griffon shares last traded at $67.52, with a volume of 146,976 shares trading hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Griffon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GFF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Griffon in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $98.20.

Griffon Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.20, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.14.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The conglomerate reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $662.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $631.47 million. Griffon had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 144.21%. Griffon’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. Griffon has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Griffon by 12.8% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 13,232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Griffon by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Griffon by 72.9% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 555 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Griffon by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,575 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Griffon by 11.0% in the first quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 77,281 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,526,000 after purchasing an additional 7,681 shares during the period. 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.