Greif (NYSE:GEF) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $53.10 and last traded at $53.65, with a volume of 24658 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down previously from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.00.

Greif Stock Performance

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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.33). Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Emkes acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $55.89 per share, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 44,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,473,523.73. This represents a 7.27 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank Calhoun V. Miller bought 1,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.50 per share, with a total value of $58,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GEF. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Greif by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 801,429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,983,000 after acquiring an additional 17,425 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new position in Greif in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,279,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 44,088 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Greif by 2.1% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Greif by 2.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

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.