Insider Buying: Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) CFO Acquires $74,325.50 in Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer acquired 1,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $69.14 per share, for a total transaction of $74,325.50. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 165,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,437,553.64. The trade was a 0.65 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Greif Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of GEF stock opened at $61.26 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.13. Greif, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.95 and a twelve month high of $73.16.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.23). Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. Greif’s payout ratio is currently 47.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 71.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Greif during the 2nd quarter worth $64,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Greif by 80.5% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Greif in the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Greif by 27,766.7% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Sidoti began coverage on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.67.

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.