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

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $76.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GEF. StockNews.com cut Greif from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 price target (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Friday, August 30th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Greif in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Greif in a report on Monday, August 26th.

Greif Stock Performance

NYSE GEF opened at $62.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $61.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.51. Greif has a 1 year low of $55.95 and a 1 year high of $71.36.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.14). Greif had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Greif will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GEF. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Greif during the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,972,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Greif by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 16,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 5,313 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Greif by 162,700.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its stake in Greif by 309.7% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 14,841 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 11,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Greif during the fourth quarter worth about $366,000. 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.