Greif (NYSE:GEF) Price Target Raised to $71.00 at Truist Financial

Greif (NYSE:GEF) had its price target increased by Truist Financial from $67.00 to $71.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Sidoti began coverage on Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.33.

Greif Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of GEF stock opened at $60.69 on Monday. Greif has a twelve month low of $55.95 and a twelve month high of $73.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued 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 11.85%. 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 firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Greif will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Greif’s payout ratio is 47.79%.

Insider Activity

In other Greif news, Director B Andrew Rose acquired 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.20 per share, with a total value of $245,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,700. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 1,075 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $69.14 per share, with a total value of $74,325.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,437,553.64. The trade was a 0.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731. Insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Greif by 59.2% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 753,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,321,000 after acquiring an additional 280,330 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Greif by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 540,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,053,000 after purchasing an additional 80,754 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Greif in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,012,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Greif by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 372,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,381,000 after purchasing an additional 53,110 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Greif by 450.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,243,000 after buying an additional 46,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.