Bala Sathyanarayanan Sells 1,146 Shares of Greif (NYSE:GEF) Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.60, for a total transaction of $101,535.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,889,217.80. This represents a 5.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Greif Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:GEF opened at $87.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.75. Greif, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.75 and a 12-month high of $90.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.50. Greif had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 8.09%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Greif’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This is an increase from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Greif’s payout ratio is currently 77.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Greif by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 899,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,872,000 after acquiring an additional 3,793 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in Greif by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 837,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,715,000 after purchasing an additional 79,813 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Greif by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 567,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Greif by 75.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 524,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,352,000 after purchasing an additional 225,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Greif by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 325,951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,067,000 after purchasing an additional 177,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GEF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Greif from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Greif from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Greif

Here are the key news stories impacting Greif this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Greif’s latest quarterly results were well ahead of expectations, with earnings per share of $1.61 versus the $1.11 consensus and revenue of $1.17 billion versus forecasts of $1.12 billion. Revenue also grew 3.5% year over year, supporting the company’s earnings outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.62 per share from $0.56, providing an annualized payout of $2.48 and a yield of approximately 2.8%.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Truist recently increased their price targets to $90 and $97, respectively, following Greif’s strong results, although both maintained neutral ratings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains mixed: one analyst rates Greif Buy, three rate it Hold and one rates it Sell. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $83, below recent trading levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Timothy Bergwall, senior vice president, sold 2,000 shares for approximately $174,000, reducing his position by 3.46%. The sale was conducted under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, making it a less significant discretionary signal. Bergwall insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Lawrence Hilsheimer sold a combined 41,754 shares in two transactions for approximately $3.70 million, reducing his direct ownership by roughly 30% and 45% in the respective filings. The size of the sales is the clearest near-term overhang for GEF. SEC filing for CFO sales
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 1,146 shares at an average price of $88.60, reducing his holdings by 5.1%. Multiple executive sales occurring near the stock’s recent highs may reinforce profit-taking concerns. Sathyanarayanan insider sale

About Greif

Greif, Inc is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, with a history dating back to its founding in 1877. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has evolved from a regional barrel and drum manufacturer into a diversified packaging provider serving a wide range of end markets. Greif’s longstanding heritage in container solutions has positioned it as a trusted partner for customers seeking reliable, high-quality packaging options.

The company’s core business revolves around the design, manufacture and sale of industrial packaging products, including steel, plastic and fiber drums; intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); safety closures; rigid, flexible and reconditioned packaging; containerboard and protective packaging.