Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Shares Sold by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC cut its stake in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 39,026 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Greif were worth $2,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Greif by 191.4% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Greif by 9.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 524,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,874,000 after purchasing an additional 44,473 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Greif during the third quarter valued at $518,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Greif by 14.4% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 20,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,531 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Greif by 35.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Greif Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:GEF opened at $71.48 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.95 and a 1-year high of $73.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.96.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.23). Greif had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sidoti assumed coverage on Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Greif in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America decreased 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 target price (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

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.