Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.40.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GEF. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Greif in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Sidoti initiated coverage on Greif in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (down from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Friday, August 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Greif by 24,865.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 5,719 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Greif by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in Greif by 133.9% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 13,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 7,468 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Greif by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Greif by 11.9% during the second quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,132 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Price Performance

Greif stock opened at $69.83 on Thursday. Greif has a 52-week low of $55.95 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.14). Greif had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Greif will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.96%.

About Greif

Greif, Inc engages in the production and sale of industrial packaging products and services worldwide. The company operates through Global Industrial Packaging; Paper Packaging & Services; and Land Management segments. The Global Industrial Packaging segment produces and sells industrial packaging products, including steel, fiber, and plastic drums; rigid and flexible intermediate bulk containers; closure systems for industrial packaging products; transit protection products; water bottles, and remanufactured and reconditioned industrial containers; and various services, such as container life cycle management, filling, logistics, warehousing, and other packaging services to chemicals, paints and pigments, food and beverage, petroleum, industrial coatings, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, mineral product, and other industries.