Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Invests $3.19 Million 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 stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 58,060 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,193,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.12% of Greif at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GEF. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Greif in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Greif during the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Greif during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Greif by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,887 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Greif Trading Down 0.4%

GEF stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.58. 244,764 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 226,406. The business's 50 day moving average price is $65.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.92. Greif, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.23 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.01.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Greif had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 3.52%.The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio is 68.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GEF shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Greif from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Greif from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 8th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Greif from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Greif from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In other Greif news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.88, for a total transaction of $68,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,934,631.76. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.55, for a total value of $121,100.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 66,678 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,352.90. The trade was a 2.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,741 shares of company stock valued at $4,596,852. Corporate 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.