Greif (NYSE:GEF) Price Target Cut to $71.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America has reduced its price target for Greif's stock from $77.00 to $71.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating.
• Greif's stock recently saw a decrease of 4.5%, trading at $62.37, with an average price target among analysts set at $72.80.
• The company's quarterly earnings report showed a net margin of 3.52% and revenue of $1.13 billion, which was below the year-ago quarter by 2.6%.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Bank of America from $77.00 to $71.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Bank of America's price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.71% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on GEF. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Greif from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Greif to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Greif presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.80.

Greif Price Performance

GEF traded down $0.04 on Tuesday, hitting $61.36. 276,092 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 219,047. Greif has a fifty-two week low of $48.23 and a fifty-two week high of $73.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.23 million. Greif had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 10.09%. Greif's quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Greif will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Greif news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.12, for a total value of $136,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 70,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,814,585.36. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gary R. Martz sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total value of $1,998,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,186 shares in the company, valued at $4,698,015.40. This trade represents a 29.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 94,741 shares of company stock worth $6,448,252. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Greif by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,397,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Greif by 4.3% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 7,459 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Greif by 5.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 104.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 1.4% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 31,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company's stock.

About Greif

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.