Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.33.

Several analysts have issued reports on GEF shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Greif from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Sidoti assumed coverage on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other news, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $45,037.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,970,613.09. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director B Andrew Rose bought 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.20 per share, for a total transaction of $245,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $245,700. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 6,225 shares of company stock worth $431,731. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Greif by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 784,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,126,000 after buying an additional 30,192 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Greif by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,725 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,760,000 after acquiring an additional 44,088 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in Greif by 15.5% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 302,552 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,958,000 after purchasing an additional 40,494 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Greif by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 69,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,272,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the period. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at $2,594,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company's stock.

Greif Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of GEF stock traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.17. 90,579 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 165,071. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $62.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.53. Greif has a fifty-two week low of $55.95 and a fifty-two week high of $73.16.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. Greif's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Research analysts predict that Greif will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. 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.