Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Short Interest Up 10.5% in August

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) saw a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 593,800 shares, an increase of 10.5% from the August 15th total of 537,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 175,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Greif Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:GEF traded up $0.97 on Wednesday, hitting $62.89. 46,624 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 164,732. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.59 and a 200-day moving average of $62.60. Greif has a fifty-two week low of $55.95 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36.

Greif Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Greif

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Greif by 3.6% during the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Greif by 5.8% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,049 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Greif by 71.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Greif by 4.6% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Greif by 11.1% in the second quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GEF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James began coverage on Greif in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 target price (down from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Greif from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.