Greif (NYSE:GEF) Price Target Raised to $76.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company raised its price target for Greif from $72.00 to $76.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.14% from the previous close.
• Greif's stock is rated "overweight" by Wells Fargo, while other analysts have mixed ratings, including three "Buy" and four "Hold" ratings.
• In the last quarter, Greif reported an EPS of $1.19, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $1.39 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 1.1%.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $76.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.14% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded Greif to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $77.00 target price (up from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.33.

Greif Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE GEF opened at $67.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Greif has a 52 week low of $48.23 and a 52 week high of $73.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.64.

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

Insider Transactions at Greif

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,998,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,186 shares in the company, valued at $4,698,015.40. This represents a 29.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ole G. Rosgaard sold 30,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.75, for a total value of $1,972,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 97,464 shares in the company, valued at $6,408,258. This trade represents a 23.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 94,741 shares of company stock worth $6,448,252. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Greif

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GEF. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Greif in the fourth quarter worth $1,025,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $1,180,000. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in Greif by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 21,665 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,324,000 after acquiring an additional 5,835 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Greif by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 44,176 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,700,000 after acquiring an additional 10,131 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Greif by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,630 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691 shares during the period. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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