Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Cuts Stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC decreased its holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 344 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Greif were worth $851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Greif by 24,865.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 5,719 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Greif by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Mirova purchased a new position in Greif in the 1st quarter worth $2,597,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in Greif by 133.9% in the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 13,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 7,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Greif by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the period. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Greif Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:GEF opened at $67.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Greif, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.95 and a 12-month high of $71.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $63.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.14). Greif had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GEF shares. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 target price (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Friday, August 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.00.

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.