Insider Buying: Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Director Acquires $245,700.00 in Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Director B Andrew Rose acquired 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.20 per share, for a total transaction of $245,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,700. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Greif Stock Performance

Shares of Greif stock opened at $61.16 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Greif, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.95 and a 12 month high of $73.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GEF. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Greif by 4.0% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 784,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,126,000 after purchasing an additional 30,192 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Greif by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 540,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,053,000 after buying an additional 80,754 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Greif by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 524,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,874,000 after buying an additional 44,473 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Greif by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 372,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,381,000 after acquiring an additional 53,110 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in Greif by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 302,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,958,000 after acquiring an additional 40,494 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sidoti assumed coverage on shares of Greif in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 price target (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.67.

About Greif

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.