Insider Buying: Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) CFO Buys 550 Shares of Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer acquired 550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.88 per share, for a total transaction of $37,334.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 162,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,006,809.88. This represents a 0.34 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Greif Stock Performance

Greif stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $60.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 229,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 172,514. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Greif, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.95 and a 1-year high of $73.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.14. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Greif's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GEF. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $67.00 price objective (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Sidoti began coverage on Greif in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GEF. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Greif by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 372,040 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,381,000 after buying an additional 53,110 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Greif during the third quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Greif by 97.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 34,045 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,133,000 after acquiring an additional 16,759 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Greif by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 262,058 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,061,000 after purchasing an additional 28,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Greif by 9.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 524,637 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,874,000 after acquiring an additional 44,473 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Greif Company 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.