Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Makes New $3.19 Million Investment in Greif, Inc. $GEF

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has invested approximately $3.19 million in Greif, Inc., acquiring 58,060 shares and now owning about 0.12% of the company.
• Greif has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.54 to $0.56, representing an annualized yield of 3.7%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Greif, with a consensus price target of $75.80 and various reports adjusting their ratings between "hold" and "buy."

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 58,060 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,193,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Greif at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 7,222.6% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 233,370 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,264,000 after purchasing an additional 230,183 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Greif by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 366,449 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,015,000 after buying an additional 128,880 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Greif in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,473,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Greif by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 298,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,229,000 after buying an additional 60,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Greif by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,251,074 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $68,797,000 after buying an additional 55,948 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Greif from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Greif from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Greif from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Greif from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.80.

Greif Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE GEF traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $61.57. 24,720 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 188,757. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.95. Greif, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.23 and a 1-year high of $73.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $740.23 million. Greif had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The business's revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This is an increase from Greif's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Greif's payout ratio is 71.11%.

Insider Activity at Greif

In related news, CEO Ole G. Rosgaard sold 19,248 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $1,347,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,475,120. This trade represents a 19.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.55, for a total transaction of $121,100.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 66,678 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,352.90. The trade was a 2.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,741 shares of company stock valued at $4,596,852 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

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.