Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $79.33.

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

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer purchased 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $67.88 per share, with a total value of $37,334.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 162,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,006,809.88. This represents a 0.34 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director B Andrew Rose acquired 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.20 per share, for a total transaction of $245,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $245,700. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 801,429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,983,000 after purchasing an additional 17,425 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Greif by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,760,000 after buying an additional 44,088 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Greif by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 535,932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,756,000 after buying an additional 11,210 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Greif by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 302,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,958,000 after buying an additional 40,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Greif by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 69,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,272,000 after buying an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Greif Stock Performance

NYSE GEF opened at $61.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. Greif has a 52-week low of $55.95 and a 52-week high of $73.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $62.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.28. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Greif will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Greif’s payout ratio is 47.79%.

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.