Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer Acquires 1,075 Shares

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer acquired 1,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $69.14 per share, for a total transaction of $74,325.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,437,553.64. This represents a 0.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Greif Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE GEF opened at $61.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92. Greif, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.95 and a 1 year high of $73.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.20 and a 200 day moving average of $63.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.23). Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GEF. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Greif by 71.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Greif in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Greif by 80.5% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Greif during the second quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Greif by 27,766.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 1,666 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on GEF shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Sidoti started coverage on Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.67.

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.