Point72 Asset Management L.P. Buys New Position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Greif by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 784,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,126,000 after purchasing an additional 30,192 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 17.6% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 540,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,053,000 after buying an additional 80,754 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 9.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 524,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,874,000 after buying an additional 44,473 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Greif by 16.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 372,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,381,000 after buying an additional 53,110 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 12.3% during the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 262,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,061,000 after buying an additional 28,669 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GEF opened at $67.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.19. Greif, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.95 and a 12 month high of $73.16.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. Analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Greif’s payout ratio is 47.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GEF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Greif in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Greif currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.67.

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.