Greif (NYSE:GEF) Shares Down 5.2% Following Weak Earnings

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) was down 5.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $60.17 and last traded at $60.44. Approximately 16,520 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 165,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.74.

The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.14). Greif had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GEF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Greif from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Greif in a report on Monday. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Greif from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Greif by 71.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Greif during the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Greif by 80.5% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Greif during the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Greif by 27,766.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 1,666 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Greif Stock Down 3.9 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.75. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.57.

About Greif

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.