Greif (NYSE:GEF) Price Target Raised to $71.00

Greif (NYSE:GEF) had its target price hoisted by Truist Financial from $67.00 to $71.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Sidoti began coverage on shares of Greif in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.33.

Greif Stock Performance

Shares of Greif stock opened at $59.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.95. Greif has a one year low of $55.95 and a one year high of $73.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.78 and its 200-day moving average is $63.06.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Greif will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Greif’s payout ratio is 47.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director B Andrew Rose bought 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.20 per share, for a total transaction of $245,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $245,700. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $45,037.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,970,613.09. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 6,225 shares of company stock worth $431,731. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GEF. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Greif by 71.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Greif by 80.5% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 27,766.7% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 1,666 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Greif by 770.7% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Greif by 50.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Greif Company Profile

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.