Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $73.50.

GEF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Greif from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Greif from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Greif from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st.

Greif Stock Down 1.4%

GEF stock opened at $68.92 on Friday. Greif has a 1-year low of $55.75 and a 1-year high of $77.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.80.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.06). Greif had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.27%.The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Greif will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This is an increase from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In other news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total value of $130,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 65,832 shares in the company, valued at $4,296,196.32. The trade was a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $406,680 in the last three months. 7.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Greif

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GEF. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Greif by 106.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Greif by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Greif during the fourth quarter valued at $84,000. Simplex Trading LLC increased its position in Greif by 399.5% during the fourth quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Greif during the first quarter valued at $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Company Profile

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.