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

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, 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 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $77.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GEF. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Sidoti began coverage on Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Insider Activity

In other Greif news, Director B Andrew Rose bought 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 approximately $245,700. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $67.88 per share, with a total value of $37,334.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 162,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,006,809.88. The trade was a 0.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Greif

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GEF. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 17,425 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new position in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,279,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Greif by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,760,000 after buying an additional 44,088 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Greif by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 535,932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,756,000 after buying an additional 11,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Greif by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 310,236 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,962,000 after buying an additional 7,684 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Greif Stock Performance

Shares of GEF stock opened at $56.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Greif has a fifty-two week low of $53.43 and a fifty-two week high of $73.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.01. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.33). Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. Analysts predict that Greif will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Greif’s payout ratio is 61.71%.

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.