CSM Advisors LLC Takes Position in Greif, Inc. $GEF

CSM Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Greif during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Greif by 5.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Greif by 4.3% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 7,459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Greif by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Greif by 84.9% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 3,215 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Greif Stock Performance

GEF stock opened at $59.89 on Wednesday. Greif, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.23 and a twelve month high of $73.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.22. Greif had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Greif from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Greif in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Greif from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Greif from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.20.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other Greif news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.09, for a total transaction of $120,180.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 64,678 shares in the company, valued at $3,886,501.02. This trade represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Greif 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.