Greif (NYSE:GEF) Director Mark Emkes Sells 3,000 Shares

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Director Mark Emkes sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.04, for a total transaction of $261,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,777,536. This trade represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Greif Price Performance

Greif stock opened at $89.84 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.42, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.75. Greif, Inc. has a one year low of $55.75 and a one year high of $90.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $73.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.57.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Greif’s payout ratio is presently 95.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEF. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Greif by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Greif by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Greif by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Greif by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Greif by 106.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on GEF shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research raised Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Bank of America cut Greif from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Greif from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.00.

Greif Company Profile

Greif, Inc is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, with a history dating back to its founding in 1877. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has evolved from a regional barrel and drum manufacturer into a diversified packaging provider serving a wide range of end markets. Greif’s longstanding heritage in container solutions has positioned it as a trusted partner for customers seeking reliable, high-quality packaging options.

The company’s core business revolves around the design, manufacture and sale of industrial packaging products, including steel, plastic and fiber drums; intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); safety closures; rigid, flexible and reconditioned packaging; containerboard and protective packaging.