Bank of America Cuts Greif (NYSE:GEF) Price Target to $73.00

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $79.00 to $73.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Bank of America's target price would suggest a potential upside of 20.28% from the company's current price.

GEF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Sidoti began coverage on shares of Greif in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Greif from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.33.

Greif Stock Performance

Shares of GEF traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $60.69. 178,898 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 215,399. The company has a market capitalization 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 has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Greif has a twelve month low of $55.95 and a twelve month high of $73.16. The business's 50-day moving average price is $65.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.11.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Greif's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Greif will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Greif by 770.7% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,933 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Greif by 27,766.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in Greif by 80.5% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,258 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted 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. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 46,176 shares during 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.