Insider Selling: Greif (NYSE:GEF) EVP Sells 10,838 Shares of Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 10,838 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total transaction of $811,766.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,756,844.30. The trade was a 22.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Bala Sathyanarayanan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 3rd, Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 2,499 shares of Greif stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.29, for a total value of $180,652.71.
• On Tuesday, February 3rd, Bala Sathyanarayanan purchased 100 shares of Greif stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $87.69 per share, for a total transaction of $8,769.00.
• On Wednesday, February 4th, Bala Sathyanarayanan purchased 200 shares of Greif stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $89.22 per share, with a total value of $17,844.00.
• On Wednesday, December 10th, Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 7,000 shares of Greif stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $466,340.00.

Greif Price Performance

NYSE GEF traded down $1.63 on Thursday, hitting $73.81. 206,780 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 211,044. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.65. The company has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.96. Greif, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.23 and a 1-year high of $75.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.21). Greif had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 7.52%.The firm had revenue of $994.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th were given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. Greif’s payout ratio is currently 82.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GEF. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Greif by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System purchased a new stake in Greif in the 2nd quarter valued at about $214,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC bought a new position in Greif during the 2nd quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Greif during the second quarter valued at about $227,000. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GEF. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Greif from $71.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Greif from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 target price on Greif in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.50.

Greif Company Profile

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.