Lawrence Hilsheimer Sells 21,500 Shares of Greif (NYSE:GEF) Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) CFO Lawrence Hilsheimer sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $1,906,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,289,644.50. This represents a 45.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Greif Price Performance

GEF stock traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $87.26. 235,754 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,518. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $74.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.80. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.75. Greif, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.75 and a fifty-two week high of $90.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.50. Greif had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. Greif’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.74%.

Institutional Trading of Greif

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GEF. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Greif by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Greif in the second quarter valued at $1,040,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Greif in the second quarter valued at $230,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Greif in the second quarter valued at $609,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Greif by 50.3% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Greif from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

Greif Company Profile

Greif, Inc is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, with a history dating back to its founding in 1877. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has evolved from a regional barrel and drum manufacturer into a diversified packaging provider serving a wide range of end markets. Greif’s longstanding heritage in container solutions has positioned it as a trusted partner for customers seeking reliable, high-quality packaging options.

The company’s core business revolves around the design, manufacture and sale of industrial packaging products, including steel, plastic and fiber drums; intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); safety closures; rigid, flexible and reconditioned packaging; containerboard and protective packaging.