Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Receives $79.33 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.33.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GEF shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Sidoti initiated coverage on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Greif from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Activity at Greif

In related news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer purchased 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $67.88 per share, with a total value of $37,334.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 162,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,006,809.88. This represents a 0.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director B Andrew Rose acquired 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $70.20 per share, with a total value of $245,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,700. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake 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 worth $43,321,000 after buying an additional 280,330 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $31,053,000 after buying an additional 80,754 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Greif during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,012,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Greif by 16.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 372,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,381,000 after buying an additional 53,110 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Greif by 450.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 46,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of GEF stock opened at $57.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Greif has a 12-month low of $55.95 and a 12-month high of $73.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.05.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 4.81%. Greif’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Greif will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Greif’s payout ratio is 47.79%.

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.