Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Takes Position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter worth about $448,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Greif by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,219,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 162.6% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 17,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 10,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Greif by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,049 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 3,779 shares in 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 have issued reports on GEF shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down previously from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Greif presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark A. Emkes purchased 3,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $55.89 per share, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,257 shares in the company, valued at $2,473,523.73. This represents a 7.27 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David C. Lloyd sold 2,263 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $125,008.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,719.20. The trade was a 22.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GEF opened at $48.82 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. Greif, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.40 and a fifty-two week high of $73.16.

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

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.71%.

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.