Greif (NYSE:GEF) SVP Sells 2,000 Shares

Key Points

• Greif SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares at an average price of $83.14, generating $166,280. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, leaving him with 53,832 shares.
• Greif recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.61 per share, beating estimates of $1.11, while revenue rose 3.5% year over year to $1.17 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.62, equivalent to an annualized $2.48 payout and a 3.0% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $83.

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total transaction of $166,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 53,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,475,592.48. This trade represents a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Timothy Bergwall also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 10th, Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of Greif stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total value of $174,120.00.
• On Monday, August 3rd, Timothy Bergwall sold 6,000 shares of Greif stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.26, for a total value of $511,560.00.
• On Friday, July 10th, Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of Greif stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total value of $146,280.00.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of Greif stock traded down $0.67 during trading on Monday, hitting $81.65. 341,206 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 238,094. The stock has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Greif, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.75 and a 52 week high of $90.57. The firm's fifty day moving average is $82.47 and its 200-day moving average is $72.89.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.50. Greif had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. Greif's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Greif's dividend payout ratio is 77.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GEF. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Greif by 35.0% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 246,492 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,361,000 after buying an additional 63,843 shares during the period. EVR Research LP bought a new stake in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,848,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 90,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,099,000 after acquiring an additional 5,071 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 59,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,055,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Greif by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,749,000 after acquiring an additional 8,322 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on GEF. Bank of America downgraded shares of Greif from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Greif from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $97.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Greif from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Greif from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.00.

About Greif

Greif, Inc NYSE: GEF is a global packaging company that produces and sells industrial packaging products and paper-based packaging materials. Its offerings include fiber, steel and plastic drums; intermediate bulk containers; containerboard and corrugated products; paperboard tubes and cores; and related closure systems and services.

The company serves customers in industries such as chemicals, food and beverage, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, petroleum, and other industrial markets. Greif's packaging products are designed to help customers transport, protect and store bulk materials, while its paper and corrugated products support a broad range of commercial and industrial applications.

Greif traces its history to 1877, when it was founded as a cooperage business in Cleveland, Ohio.

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