Dark Forest Capital Management LP Raises Position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,446 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Greif were worth $789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GEF. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Greif during the 2nd quarter valued at $64,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Greif by 80.5% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Greif during the second quarter worth about $80,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Greif by 27,766.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Greif by 162,700.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Price Performance

GEF opened at $62.89 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.56. Greif, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.95 and a twelve month high of $71.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 0.91.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.14). Greif had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. Equities analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Greif’s payout ratio is presently 46.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GEF shares. StockNews.com downgraded Greif from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Greif in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Greif 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.