Greif (NYSE:GEF) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Greif has been downgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" to a "strong sell" rating, indicating potential concerns about the company's performance.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.03, surpassing the consensus estimate, but experienced a 2.6% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Institutional investors own approximately 45.74% of Greif's stock, reflecting significant interest from large investment firms.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, September 9th,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on GEF. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Greif from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Greif from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Greif from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Greif presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.80.

Greif Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GEF traded down $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.30. 75,302 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 189,221. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Greif has a 12 month low of $48.23 and a 12 month high of $73.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $65.26 and a 200-day moving average of $59.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.01.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $740.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Greif will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In other news, EVP Gary R. Martz sold 29,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total transaction of $1,998,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,186 shares in the company, valued at $4,698,015.40. The trade was a 29.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.55, for a total transaction of $121,100.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 66,678 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,352.90. This represents a 2.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,741 shares of company stock valued at $4,596,852 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GEF. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 7,222.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 233,370 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,264,000 after acquiring an additional 230,183 shares during the period. AXA S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Greif during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,052,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 54.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 366,449 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,015,000 after acquiring an additional 128,880 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,473,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Greif in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,052,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.