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

Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.17.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on Greif from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Greif Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:GEF opened at $69.73 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $59.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.99. Greif has a 12 month low of $48.23 and a 12 month high of $73.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.11. Greif had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 3.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Greif's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Greif will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Greif's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ole G. Rosgaard sold 783 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $54,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,433 shares in the company, valued at $5,420,310. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kimberly Anne Kellermann sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.88, for a total transaction of $610,920.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $240,838.24. The trade was a 71.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 59,031 shares of company stock valued at $3,985,590. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Greif in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Greif by 104.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 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.

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