Sovereign s Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Sovereign s Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 13,543 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $828,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Greif by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Greif by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 22,578 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,380,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Greif by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,684 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,875,000 after buying an additional 4,036 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Greif by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,541 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company's stock.

Greif Price Performance

GEF stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.76. 89,900 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 170,482. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.63. Greif, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.23 and a 1-year high of $73.16. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.33). The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. On average, analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Greif's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on GEF shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Greif from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Insider Activity

In other Greif news, Director Mark A. Emkes bought 3,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $55.89 per share, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 44,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,473,523.73. The trade was a 7.27% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Frank Calhoun V. Miller purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $58.50 per share, for a total transaction of $58,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,500. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

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.