Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Acquires 55,948 Shares of Greif, Inc. $GEF

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Greif, Inc. by 4.7%, owning 1,251,074 shares worth approximately $68.8 million.
• Greif reported $1.19 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, but its revenue of $1.39 billion fell short of the predicted $1.43 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 3.2%.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,251,074 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 55,948 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 2.64% of Greif worth $68,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GEF. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Greif in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Greif by 104.9% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GEF traded down $0.0440 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.8860. 290,295 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 203,490. Greif, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.23 and a 52 week high of $73.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $66.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.65.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.11. Greif had a net margin of 3.74% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Greif's payout ratio is currently 60.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GEF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Greif from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Research raised shares of Greif to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $77.00 price target (up from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.33.

Insider Activity at Greif

In other Greif news, SVP Kimberly Anne Kellermann sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.88, for a total value of $610,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $240,838.24. The trade was a 71.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.12, for a total transaction of $136,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 70,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,814,585.36. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 94,741 shares of company stock worth $6,448,252 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Greif 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.