Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Greif, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from seven research firms, with an average 12-month price target of $75.80.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.03, exceeding estimates significantly, but experienced a 2.6% revenue decline year-over-year.
• Greif declared a quarterly dividend of $0.56, marking an increase from the previous quarter's $0.54, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.9%.

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $75.80.

Several brokerages have commented on GEF. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Greif from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Greif from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Greif from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Greif from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.55, for a total value of $121,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 66,678 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,352.90. This trade represents a 2.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Greif in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Greif in the 2nd quarter worth about $214,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Greif in the 2nd quarter worth about $216,000. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Greif in the 2nd quarter worth about $227,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Greif during the 2nd quarter valued at about $230,000. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Greif Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of GEF opened at $57.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.47. Greif has a twelve month low of $48.23 and a twelve month high of $73.16.

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

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Greif's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Greif's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.11%.

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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