Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Receives $77.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $77.00.

GEF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped 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, February 28th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of Greif stock traded down $1.10 on Wednesday, reaching $54.89. 133,371 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 173,406. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's 50 day moving average is $58.82 and its 200-day moving average is $62.25. Greif has a one year low of $53.43 and a one year high of $73.16.

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Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.33). Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Greif will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Greif's payout ratio is presently 61.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In other Greif news, Director Frank Calhoun V. Miller acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $58.50 per share, with a total value of $58,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Emkes bought 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $55.89 per share, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 44,257 shares in the company, valued at $2,473,523.73. This represents a 7.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEF. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Greif by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Greif by 14.4% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 20,098 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,531 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Greif in the third quarter valued at $518,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 9.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 524,637 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,874,000 after purchasing an additional 44,473 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Greif by 191.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,433 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is 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.