Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $76.00.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 price target (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Greif from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Greif in a research report on Monday, August 26th.

Greif Price Performance

Greif stock opened at $62.58 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 0.91. 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 52-week low of $55.95 and a 52-week high of $71.36.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Greif will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.96%.

Institutional Trading of Greif

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEF. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Greif by 16.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 372,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,381,000 after purchasing an additional 53,110 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake 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 buying an additional 28,669 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Greif during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,012,000. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new position in Greif in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $452,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Greif by 5.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Company 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.