Greif (NYSE:GEF) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Greif to “Buy” from “Hold”, though the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with an average price target of $83.00.
• Greif reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.61 versus the $1.11 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.17 billion, up 3.5% year over year.
• Shares opened at $88.54, near the company’s 52-week high of $90.57, while insiders sold approximately $4.66 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on GEF. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Greif from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America cut shares of Greif from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Greif from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.00.

Greif Stock Performance

Shares of Greif stock opened at $88.54 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $74.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.81. The company has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.29. Greif has a one year low of $55.75 and a one year high of $90.57.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.50. Greif had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Greif will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Greif

In other news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 6,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.26, for a total transaction of $511,560.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 57,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,930,756.32. The trade was a 9.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Emkes sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.04, for a total value of $261,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,777,536. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 55,087 shares of company stock valued at $4,659,541 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in Greif by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 837,742 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,715,000 after purchasing an additional 79,813 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in Greif by 631.5% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 26,043 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 22,483 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Greif by 91.5% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 18,839 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Greif in the first quarter valued at $871,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Greif in the first quarter valued at about $1,853,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company's stock.

About Greif

Greif, Inc is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, with a history dating back to its founding in 1877. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has evolved from a regional barrel and drum manufacturer into a diversified packaging provider serving a wide range of end markets. Greif's longstanding heritage in container solutions has positioned it as a trusted partner for customers seeking reliable, high-quality packaging options.

The company's core business revolves around the design, manufacture and sale of industrial packaging products, including steel, plastic and fiber drums; intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); safety closures; rigid, flexible and reconditioned packaging; containerboard and protective packaging.

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