Greif (NYSE:GEF) Price Target Cut to $68.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Greif (NYSE:GEF) had its target price cut by Robert W. Baird from $75.00 to $68.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sidoti started coverage on Greif in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Greif from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.17.

Greif Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of Greif stock opened at $57.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. Greif has a fifty-two week low of $53.42 and a fifty-two week high of $73.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.05.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.33). Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Greif will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Greif news, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $45,037.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,970,613.09. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer purchased 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.88 per share, with a total value of $37,334.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 162,151 shares in the company, valued at $11,006,809.88. This represents a 0.34 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at $7,473,000. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Greif by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 52,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,217,000 after purchasing an additional 2,283 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign s Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at $828,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Greif by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 7,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.