Analysts Set Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Price Target at $78.17

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.00.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GEF shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective 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 price objective for the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

Greif Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE:GEF opened at $56.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.52 and its 200 day moving average is $63.01. Greif has a 12 month low of $53.43 and a 12 month high of $73.16.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.33). Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Greif will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GEF. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Greif by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 4,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Greif by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Greif by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 31,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 30,192 shares in the last quarter. 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.