Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer Acquires 1,100 Shares

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer acquired 1,100 shares of Greif stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $67.61 per share, with a total value of $74,371.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 163,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,037,400.11. The trade was a 0.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Greif Stock Down 0.9 %

GEF opened at $61.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $66.20 and its 200 day moving average is $63.12. Greif, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.95 and a fifty-two week high of $73.16.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Greif’s payout ratio is currently 47.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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