Freestone Grove Partners LP Acquires New Stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,615 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $404,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Greif in the fourth quarter worth about $2,594,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Greif in the 4th quarter worth about $448,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Greif by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 535,932 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,756,000 after acquiring an additional 11,210 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Greif by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,725 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,760,000 after acquiring an additional 44,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Greif by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 801,429 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,983,000 after purchasing an additional 17,425 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company's stock.

Greif Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE GEF opened at $54.33 on Monday. Greif, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.23 and a 52 week high of $73.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.33). Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.26 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Greif's payout ratio is currently 61.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frank Calhoun V. Miller purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.50 per share, with a total value of $58,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $58,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Emkes purchased 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $55.89 per share, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Greif from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Greif presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.50.

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.

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