Greif (NYSE:GEF) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $81.25, but opened at $74.80. Greif shares last traded at $80.8480, with a volume of 33,210 shares changing hands.

The industrial products company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 7.53%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 17th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GEF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Greif from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Greif from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “cautious” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Greif from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $1,906,190.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,289,644.50. This represents a 45.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 5.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 49,900 shares of company stock valued at $4,414,117 over the last ninety days. 7.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Odyssean LLC increased its stake in shares of Greif by 500.8% during the second quarter. Odyssean LLC now owns 18,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 15,426 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Greif in the 1st quarter valued at $871,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in Greif by 362.2% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,706 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 24,846 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Greif by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,749,000 after purchasing an additional 8,322 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Greif in the 1st quarter valued at $1,853,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Trading Down 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.79.

About Greif

Greif, Inc is a global producer of industrial and paper packaging products and related services. The company manufactures and supplies fiber, steel and plastic drums; intermediate bulk containers; containerboard; corrugated sheets and products; and other packaging solutions for customers in a range of industries.

Greif also provides packaging lifecycle services, including container reconditioning, recycling, logistics and related customer support. Its products are used to package and transport food and beverage ingredients, chemicals, petroleum products, agricultural materials, pharmaceuticals and other industrial goods.

Founded in 1877 as a cooperage business, Greif has expanded into a multinational packaging company serving customers across North America, Europe and other international markets.