Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Greif (NYSE:GEF) Stock

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Truist Financial from $67.00 to $71.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the industrial products company's stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Sidoti started coverage on shares of Greif in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Greif presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.33.

Greif Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:GEF traded down $0.34 during trading on Monday, reaching $60.69. 178,898 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 215,399. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.10. Greif has a 52-week low of $55.95 and a 52-week high of $73.16.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.23). Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Greif will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Greif's payout ratio is presently 47.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director B Andrew Rose bought 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.20 per share, for a total transaction of $245,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $245,700. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer purchased 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased 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. Insiders acquired a total of 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Greif by 71.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in Greif by 80.5% during 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 period. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Greif by 770.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,933 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC boosted its stake in Greif by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company's stock.

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.