Ole Rosgaard Sells 40,087 Shares of Greif (NYSE:GEF) Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) CEO Ole Rosgaard sold 40,087 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.68, for a total value of $3,474,741.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 88,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,650,983.56. This represents a 31.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Greif Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Greif stock opened at $89.84 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.42, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.75. Greif, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.75 and a twelve month high of $90.57. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.57.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 95.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on GEF shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Greif from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Greif from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Greif currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.00.

Institutional Trading of Greif

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Greif by 1.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Greif in the second quarter worth $1,040,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Greif during the second quarter worth $230,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Greif during the second quarter worth $609,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Greif by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $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.

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.