Lawrence A. Hilsheimer Purchases 1,075 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 1,075 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $69.14 per share, for a total transaction of $74,325.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 165,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,437,553.64. The trade was a 0.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Greif Price Performance

Greif stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.06. 8,768 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 171,612. Greif, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.95 and a 12 month high of $73.16. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GEF. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Greif by 7.0% during the 3rd 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 period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Greif by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,049 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in Greif by 71.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Greif by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GEF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sidoti began coverage on Greif in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 price target (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Greif presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.67.

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.