Short Interest in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Expands By 10.5%

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of 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 trading volume of 175,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEF. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Greif by 59.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 753,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,321,000 after buying an additional 280,330 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 17.6% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 540,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,053,000 after purchasing an additional 80,754 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Greif by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 409,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,853,000 after purchasing an additional 15,169 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Greif by 16.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 372,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,381,000 after purchasing an additional 53,110 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its position in Greif by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 262,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,061,000 after purchasing an additional 28,669 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GEF shares. 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Greif from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Greif in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 target price (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Greif currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of GEF stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $61.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 142,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 165,307. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $55.95 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.59.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is an increase from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Greif’s payout ratio is presently 46.45%.

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.