State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Boosts Holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 3.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 31,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 943 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Greif were worth $1,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Greif by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Greif by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 4,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Greif by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 6,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Greif by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Greif by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE GEF opened at $67.79 on Monday. Greif, Inc. has a one year low of $55.95 and a one year high of $71.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $63.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.40.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (down from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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.