Greif (NYSE:GEF) Reaches New 12-Month Low Following Weak Earnings

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $54.93 and last traded at $55.84, with a volume of 38419 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.35.

The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.33). Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GEF. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Bank of America decreased their target price 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Sidoti began coverage on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Greif has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 801,429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,983,000 after purchasing an additional 17,425 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $46,279,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,760,000 after purchasing an additional 44,088 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 535,932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,756,000 after purchasing an additional 11,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 310,236 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,962,000 after purchasing an additional 7,684 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Stock Up 3.9 %

The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.53.

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.