Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.33.

Several equities analysts recently commented on GEF shares. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Greif from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Sidoti started coverage on shares of Greif in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock.

Greif Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE GEF opened at $60.53 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.94. Greif has a 12-month low of $55.95 and a 12-month high of $73.16.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Greif will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. Greif’s payout ratio is 47.79%.

Insider Activity at Greif

In other Greif news, Director B Andrew Rose acquired 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.20 per share, for a total transaction of $245,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $245,700. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $45,037.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at $1,970,613.09. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders bought 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Greif

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Greif by 3.2% during the third 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. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Greif by 7.0% in the third 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 during the period. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Greif by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Greif in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.