Greif (NYSE:GEF) Share Price Breaks Below 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Greif shares fell below their 200-day moving average of $74.68, reaching an intraday low of $73.09 and last trading at $73.38.
• Fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings were $0.87 per share, below the $1.12 consensus, while revenue of $1.14 billion topped estimates and rose 4.5% year over year.
• Greif raised its annualized cost-savings target to $150 million and declared a $0.62 quarterly dividend. Truist cut its price target to $88 from $94 but maintained a Hold rating; the consensus rating is also Hold.

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $74.68 and traded as low as $73.09. Greif shares last traded at $73.3840, with a volume of 517,255 shares trading hands.

Trending Headlines about Greif

Here are the key news stories impacting Greif this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Greif raised its annualized run-rate cost-savings target to $150 million and reported year-end leverage of 1.2 times, supporting its efforts to improve efficiency and strengthen its balance sheet. Greif: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share, equivalent to $2.48 annually. Greif stock information
• Neutral Sentiment: Greif was named one of America’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces for the sixth consecutive year, a reputational positive with limited near-term earnings implications. Greif Named Top 100 Most Loved Workplace
• Negative Sentiment: Truist lowered its price target to $88 from $94 while reaffirming its Hold rating. Although the new target remains above the share price cited in the report, the cut may signal reduced analyst expectations. Truist Cuts Price Target on Greif
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal fourth-quarter earnings missed estimates as higher costs squeezed margins, despite sales beating expectations on stronger pricing. The earnings shortfall is likely the most direct near-term headwind for the stock. Greif Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates on Higher Costs, Sales Beat

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GEF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Greif in a report on Friday, October 30th. Bank of America cut Greif from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Greif from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Greif from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (down from $94.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $82.20.

Greif Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company's fifty day moving average is $82.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.68.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Greif had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 7.78%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 17th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Greif's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.74%.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other news, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 1,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.67, for a total transaction of $109,670.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,549 shares in the company, valued at $827,898.83. The trade was a 11.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total transaction of $163,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 51,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,894.24. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,000 shares of company stock worth $613,710. 7.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GEF. Lido Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Greif during the 3rd quarter worth about $227,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Greif during the third quarter worth approximately $254,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Greif in the third quarter worth $229,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its stake in Greif by 268.3% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in Greif during the third quarter worth about $392,000. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company's stock.

About Greif

Greif, Inc is a global producer of industrial and paper packaging products and related services. The company manufactures and supplies fiber, steel and plastic drums; intermediate bulk containers; containerboard; corrugated sheets and products; and other packaging solutions for customers in a range of industries.

Greif also provides packaging lifecycle services, including container reconditioning, recycling, logistics and related customer support. Its products are used to package and transport food and beverage ingredients, chemicals, petroleum products, agricultural materials, pharmaceuticals and other industrial goods.

Founded in 1877 as a cooperage business, Greif has expanded into a multinational packaging company serving customers across North America, Europe and other international markets.

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