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

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 482 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.07% of Greif worth $1,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Greif by 59.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 753,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,321,000 after acquiring an additional 280,330 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Greif by 17.6% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 540,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,053,000 after purchasing an additional 80,754 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Greif in the second quarter valued at $4,012,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Greif by 450.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,243,000 after buying an additional 46,176 shares during the period. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Greif Stock Performance

NYSE GEF opened at $60.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.17. 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 P/E ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Greif Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 target price (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Sidoti began coverage on shares of Greif in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Greif has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.67.

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.