Investors Research Corp Sells 250 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Investors Research Corp reduced its position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in Greif were worth $622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Greif during the fourth quarter worth $2,594,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $34,760,000 after acquiring an additional 44,088 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Greif by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Greif by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Greif by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 69,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,272,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David C. Lloyd sold 2,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total transaction of $125,008.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,580 shares in the company, valued at $418,719.20. This represents a 22.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Emkes bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $55.89 per share, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 44,257 shares in the company, valued at $2,473,523.73. This represents a 7.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $599,401 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Greif Stock Performance

GEF opened at $55.41 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.86. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. Greif, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.43 and a 1 year high of $73.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.33). Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Research analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. Greif’s payout ratio is presently 61.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Sidoti initiated coverage on Greif in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

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.