Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Boosts Stock Position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 22.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,291 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Greif were worth $1,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Greif by 94.6% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 78,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,159,000 after purchasing an additional 38,229 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Greif by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Greif in the 4th quarter worth about $10,972,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Greif during the 4th quarter worth approximately $192,000. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management increased its stake in Greif by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 3,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE GEF traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $60.66. 7,898 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 166,414. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.57. Greif, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.95 and a 12-month high of $74.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 0.91.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Greif had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. Greif’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Greif’s payout ratio is 44.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GEF shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Greif from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Bank of America upgraded Greif from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Greif from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Greif from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.00.

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.