Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stock Position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 784,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 30,192 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Greif were worth $49,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Greif by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 540,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,053,000 after buying an additional 80,754 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Greif by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 372,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,381,000 after buying an additional 53,110 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Greif by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 262,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,061,000 after buying an additional 28,669 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Greif by 36.5% in the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 105,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,064,000 after buying an additional 28,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Greif in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,012,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on GEF. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 target price (down from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Greif currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Greif Price Performance

NYSE GEF opened at $67.05 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $63.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Greif, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.95 and a 1-year high of $71.36.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Greif had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 13.28%. On average, equities analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.96%.

Greif Company Profile

Greif, Inc engages in the production and sale of industrial packaging products and services worldwide. The company operates through Global Industrial Packaging; Paper Packaging & Services; and Land Management segments. The Global Industrial Packaging segment produces and sells industrial packaging products, including steel, fiber, and plastic drums; rigid and flexible intermediate bulk containers; closure systems for industrial packaging products; transit protection products; water bottles, and remanufactured and reconditioned industrial containers; and various services, such as container life cycle management, filling, logistics, warehousing, and other packaging services to chemicals, paints and pigments, food and beverage, petroleum, industrial coatings, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, mineral product, and other industries.