EVR Research LP Takes $11.85 Million Position in Greif, Inc. $GEF

EVR Research LP bought a new stake in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 175,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,848,000. Greif accounts for about 6.4% of EVR Research LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GEF. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Simplex Trading LLC increased its position in shares of Greif by 399.5% during the 4th quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC bought a new position in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Greif during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In other Greif news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total value of $130,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 65,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,296,196.32. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $406,680. 7.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GEF shares. Truist Financial cut their target price on Greif from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research raised Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Greif from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Greif from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.50.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of GEF stock opened at $69.99 on Thursday. Greif, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.75 and a twelve month high of $77.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.06). Greif had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.27%.The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Greif’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.82%.

Greif 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.