Timothy Bergwall Sells 2,000 Shares of Greif (NYSE:GEF) Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total value of $174,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 55,832 shares in the company, valued at $4,860,733.92. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 3rd, Timothy Bergwall sold 6,000 shares of Greif stock. The shares were 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 transaction of $146,280.00.
• On Wednesday, June 10th, Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of Greif stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total transaction of $130,520.00.

Greif Trading Down 1.6%

GEF stock traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $87.26. 235,754 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,518. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of 27.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.75. Greif, Inc. has a one year low of $55.75 and a one year high of $90.57.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. Greif’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.74%.

Institutional Trading of Greif

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of Greif by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 27,528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 2,694 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new position in Greif during the first quarter worth about $871,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Greif during the first quarter worth approximately $1,853,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Greif by 61.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 15,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after buying an additional 5,775 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GEF. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Greif from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Greif presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

About Greif

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.