Greif (NYSE:GEF) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $67.60 and traded as high as $70.65. Greif shares last traded at $67.9870, with a volume of 169,205 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on GEF. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 price target on shares of Greif in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Greif from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Greif from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $73.50.

Greif Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.90 and a 200 day moving average of $67.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.82.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.27%.Greif’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.42, for a total value of $140,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 69,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,917,569.44. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 2,731 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.67, for a total value of $209,385.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 34,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,612,606.92. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,731 shares of company stock valued at $633,426. Company insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Greif by 6.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 895,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,506,000 after acquiring an additional 54,256 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Greif during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,220,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 144,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,637,000 after purchasing an additional 13,393 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Greif by 30.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 78,173 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,672,000 after purchasing an additional 18,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in Greif by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 837,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,715,000 after purchasing an additional 79,813 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Greif Company Profile

Greif, Inc is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, with a history dating back to its founding in 1877. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has evolved from a regional barrel and drum manufacturer into a diversified packaging provider serving a wide range of end markets. Greif’s longstanding heritage in container solutions has positioned it as a trusted partner for customers seeking reliable, high-quality packaging options.

The company’s core business revolves around the design, manufacture and sale of industrial packaging products, including steel, plastic and fiber drums; intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); safety closures; rigid, flexible and reconditioned packaging; containerboard and protective packaging.