Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) CFO Acquires $67,071.75 in Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer purchased 925 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.51 per share, for a total transaction of $67,071.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 166,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,062,111.01. This represents a 0.56% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Greif Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE GEF traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.27. The company had a trading volume of 101,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 179,097. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.99. Greif, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.23 and a 52-week high of $73.16.

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

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Greif's payout ratio is currently 60.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GEF. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 55,948 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 801,429 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,983,000 after purchasing an additional 17,425 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new position in Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $46,279,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Greif by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 596,557 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,805,000 after buying an additional 27,832 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Greif by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 535,932 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,756,000 after buying an additional 11,210 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial decreased 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. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $77.00 target price (up from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.83.

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.