Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.17.

A number of analysts have issued reports on GEF shares. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Greif from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd.

Greif Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of GEF stock opened at $66.41 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $54.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.95. Greif has a fifty-two week low of $48.23 and a fifty-two week high of $73.16.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last posted 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 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Greif will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Greif's payout ratio is 60.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frank Calhoun V. Miller bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.50 per share, for a total transaction of $58,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,500. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Greif

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Greif during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Greif by 104.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Greif by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,444 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Greif in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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