Bailard Inc. Has $570,000 Position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Greif were worth $570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GEF. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter worth about $176,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Greif during the third quarter worth about $213,000. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its position in shares of Greif by 5.3% during the third quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 3,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter worth about $229,000. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Greif during the third quarter worth about $244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Greif stock opened at $61.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.57. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.87. Greif, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.37 and a 52-week high of $76.00.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $1.07. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is 35.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In related news, VP Gary R. Martz purchased 1,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.37 per share, for a total transaction of $123,544.59. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 23,100 shares in the company, valued at $1,579,347. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Greif news, VP Gary R. Martz bought 1,925 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.86 per share, for a total transaction of $132,555.50. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 10,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $690,321.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gary R. Martz bought 1,807 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.37 per share, with a total value of $123,544.59. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 23,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,579,347. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 42,934 shares of company stock worth $2,864,352 and sold 6,000 shares worth $384,620. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GEF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 1st. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Greif in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Greif from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $64.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Greif has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.25.

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.