Greif (NYSE:GEF) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 211,846 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 26% from the previous session’s volume of 167,910 shares.The stock last traded at $63.84 and had previously closed at $63.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GEF. StockNews.com upgraded Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Greif from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th.

Greif Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $1.07. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 6.53%. Greif’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Greif’s payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.05, for a total value of $126,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 62,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,933,815.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Treasurer Anthony John Krabill bought 745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.12 per share, with a total value of $47,024.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 1,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,211.12. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.05, for a total transaction of $126,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 62,392 shares in the company, valued at $3,933,815.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 42,934 shares of company stock worth $2,864,352 and have sold 6,000 shares worth $384,620. 3.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Greif

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GEF. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,943,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Greif by 4.1% during the third quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its position in shares of Greif by 338.1% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 20,733 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Greif by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 7,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new stake in Greif during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

About Greif

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.