Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Grows Stock Holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 15.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,578 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.06% of Greif worth $1,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Greif by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Greif by 104.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Greif by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Greif by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Greif by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 7,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Greif from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Greif presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.17.

Greif Price Performance

GEF stock opened at $64.23 on Wednesday. Greif, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.23 and a 52 week high of $73.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.95.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.11. Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.85%.

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.