Greif (NYSE:GEF) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Greif Trading Down 3.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $58.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.15.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released 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). The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. On average, research analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In related news, VP David C. Lloyd sold 2,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total transaction of $125,008.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,719.20. This trade represents a 22.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $1,970,613.09. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GEF. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Greif by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Greif in the third quarter worth about $200,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. 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.