Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Receives $79.33 Average PT from Analysts

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.33.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GEF. Sidoti began coverage on Greif in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on Greif from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Greif Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE GEF opened at $61.44 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.05. Greif has a 52-week low of $55.95 and a 52-week high of $73.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.23). Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Greif will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Greif’s payout ratio is currently 47.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In other news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer purchased 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.88 per share, with a total value of $37,334.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 162,151 shares in the company, valued at $11,006,809.88. This trade represents a 0.34 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total value of $45,037.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,970,613.09. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731. 3.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 22,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 24.0% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in Greif by 14.3% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 15,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in Greif during the third quarter worth $610,000. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.