Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $73.50.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GEF shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Greif from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Greif from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Greif from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th.

Greif Trading Down 3.0%

Greif stock opened at $71.36 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Greif has a 12 month low of $55.75 and a 12 month high of $77.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.76.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.27%.Greif’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Greif will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.02%.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other Greif news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total transaction of $146,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 63,832 shares in the company, valued at $4,668,672.48. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $412,120 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GEF. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 106.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Greif by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Simplex Trading LLC boosted its position in Greif by 399.5% in the fourth quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Greif in the first quarter valued at about $201,000. 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.