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

Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $78.17.

Several analysts recently commented on GEF shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Greif from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Sidoti started coverage on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday.

Greif Stock Performance

Shares of GEF opened at $57.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.76 and a 200-day moving average of $63.05. Greif has a one year low of $53.42 and a one year high of $73.16. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 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 the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Greif will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director B Andrew Rose bought 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.20 per share, for a total transaction of $245,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $245,700. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $67.88 per share, with a total value of $37,334.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 6,225 shares of company stock worth $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 and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Greif by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position 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. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Greif by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Greif by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Greif by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.