Smith Group Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Greif were worth $410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEF. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Greif by 7.0% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Greif by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,049 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Greif by 71.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Greif by 4.6% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Cadence Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Greif by 11.1% in the second quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GEF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (down from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Friday, August 30th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Greif in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Greif in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Greif Stock Performance

Greif stock opened at $63.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.70. Greif, Inc. has a one year low of $55.95 and a one year high of $71.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 0.91.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.14). Greif had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 4.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This is a boost from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Greif’s payout ratio is 46.45%.

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.