Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Director Mark A. Emkes Purchases 3,000 Shares

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Director Mark A. Emkes bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $55.89 per share, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,473,523.73. This represents a 7.27 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Greif Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of GEF stock opened at $57.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.92. Greif, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.43 and a twelve month high of $73.16. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.33). Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. Research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Greif’s payout ratio is 61.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Greif by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Greif by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America cut their price target on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Sidoti began coverage on Greif in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Greif currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

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.