Entropy Technologies LP Sells 1,500 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Entropy Technologies LP cut its holdings in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 20.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Greif were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP grew 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. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Greif during the 2nd quarter worth about $64,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Greif during the 2nd quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Greif by 27,766.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Greif Price Performance

GEF opened at $67.80 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.91. Greif, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.95 and a 52 week high of $71.36. 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 (NYSE:GEF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Greif had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 13.28%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Greif’s payout ratio is currently 46.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on GEF. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Greif in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (down from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Greif currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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.