Greif (NYSE:GEF) Price Target Cut to $75.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Greif (NYSE:GEF) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on GEF. Sidoti began coverage on shares of 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 upped their price target on shares of 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 reduced their price target on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.00.

Greif Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GEF opened at $56.49 on Monday. Greif has a 52 week low of $53.43 and a 52 week high of $73.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.52 and its 200-day moving average is $63.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.33). The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. Equities research analysts predict that Greif will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. Greif’s payout ratio is presently 61.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total value of $45,037.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,970,613.09. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director B Andrew Rose purchased 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.20 per share, with a total value of $245,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $245,700. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731 in the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Greif

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GEF. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Greif during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Greif during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Greif by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Greif by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Greif by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 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.