Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 59.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 753,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 280,330 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Greif were worth $43,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Greif by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 540,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,053,000 after buying an additional 80,754 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Greif in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,972,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Greif by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 105,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,943,000 after buying an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in Greif by 36.5% in the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 105,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,064,000 after buying an additional 28,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Greif by 450.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 46,176 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GEF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Greif in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 price target (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Greif in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. 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, Greif has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Greif Price Performance

GEF opened at $62.93 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.91. Greif, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.95 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $61.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 4.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.45%.

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.