Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Shares Acquired by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 28.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Greif were worth $149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GEF. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Greif by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Greif by 7.0% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Greif by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Greif Price Performance

NYSE GEF opened at $59.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.12. Greif, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.95 and a 52-week high of $73.16.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GEF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sidoti began coverage on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Greif from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer purchased 550 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $67.88 per share, with a total value of $37,334.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 162,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,006,809.88. This represents a 0.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total value of $45,037.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,970,613.09. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.