Greif (NYSE:GEF) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Greif shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, reaching $82.59 and last trading near $81.79, compared with the $74.72 long-term average.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating and an $83 price target, with targets ranging from $70 to $97.
• Greif exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.61 EPS versus $1.11 expected and 3.5% year-over-year revenue growth; it also offers a 3.0% dividend yield, while insiders have sold nearly $8.5 million in shares over the past 90 days.

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $74.72 and traded as high as $82.59. Greif shares last traded at $81.7850, with a volume of 309,075 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GEF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $97.00 price target (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Greif from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Bank of America lowered shares of Greif from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Greif from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Greif Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $84.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.50. Greif had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 8.09%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Greif's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th. Greif's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total transaction of $166,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 53,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,475,592.48. This represents a 3.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Lawrence Hilsheimer sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $1,906,190.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,289,644.50. This represents a 45.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 96,987 shares of company stock valued at $8,497,898. 7.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Greif by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 246,492 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,361,000 after buying an additional 63,843 shares during the last quarter. EVR Research LP acquired a new position in Greif during the 4th quarter worth $11,848,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Greif by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 90,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,099,000 after acquiring an additional 5,071 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Greif by 29.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,749,000 after acquiring an additional 8,322 shares during the period. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in Greif by 362.2% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,706 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,362,000 after acquiring an additional 24,846 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company's stock.

About Greif

Greif, Inc NYSE: GEF is a global producer of industrial packaging and paper-based products. The company manufactures and sells steel, plastic and fiber drums; rigid intermediate bulk containers; containerboard; corrugated sheets and products; and other packaging solutions used to transport and protect goods.

Greif serves customers across industries including food and beverage, chemicals, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, industrial manufacturing and consumer products. Its operations span North America, Europe and other international markets, supporting customers through a network of manufacturing, recycling and distribution facilities.

Founded in 1877, Greif has expanded from a paper and timber business into a diversified packaging company.

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