Greif (NYSE:GEF) CFO Lawrence Hilsheimer Sells 4,500 Shares

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) CFO Lawrence Hilsheimer sold 4,500 shares of Greif stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.72, for a total transaction of $273,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,784,434.72. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Greif Stock Performance

Shares of GEF stock traded up $0.26 on Wednesday, reaching $61.08. The stock had a trading volume of 207,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 190,588. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.41. Greif, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.23 and a 1 year high of $73.16. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.79.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.22. Greif had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 3.52%.The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.23 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 44,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,653,000 after buying an additional 10,444 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Greif by 285.0% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 43,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,606,000 after buying an additional 32,274 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Greif by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,473 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Greif by 75.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 524,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,352,000 after buying an additional 225,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in Greif by 154.3% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 29,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 17,681 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GEF shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on Greif from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Greif from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Greif from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Greif in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.20.

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.