Griffon (GFF) Is A Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

Griffon in Focus

Headquartered in New York, Griffon (GFF) is a Conglomerates stock that has seen a price change of -29.32% so far this year. The garage door and building products maker is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.08 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.09%. This compares to the Diversified Operations industry's yield of 1.7% and the S&P 500's yield of 2.31%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.30 is up 3.4% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Griffon has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 15.01%. Future dividend growth will depend on earnings growth as well as payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Griffon's current payout ratio is 25%, meaning it paid out 25% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for GFF for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 is $1.32 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 22.22%.

Bottom Line

Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide a quarterly payout.

High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that GFF is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).