Insider Selling: Greif (NYSE:GEF) Director Sells $261,120.00 in Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Director Mark Emkes sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.04, for a total value of $261,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,400 shares in the company, valued at $3,777,536. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Greif Stock Performance

Shares of Greif stock opened at $88.54 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.26 and a 200 day moving average of $70.81. Greif, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.75 and a 12 month high of $90.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released 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. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 7.53%.Greif’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GEF shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report 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 target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Institutional Trading of Greif

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Greif by 106.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. Simplex Trading LLC lifted 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 worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter worth $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

About Greif

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.