Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 482 Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its holdings in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 1.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 482 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Greif were worth $1,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GEF. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Greif by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 372,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,381,000 after purchasing an additional 53,110 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Greif in the third quarter valued at about $518,000. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Greif by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 262,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,061,000 after acquiring an additional 28,669 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Greif by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 524,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,874,000 after purchasing an additional 44,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Greif in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,012,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on GEF shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Greif in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Sidoti initiated coverage on shares of Greif in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.67.

Greif Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Greif stock opened at $60.32 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Greif, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.95 and a 12-month high of $73.16. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Greif’s payout ratio is 47.79%.

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.