Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GEF. Wall Street Zen upgraded Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Greif from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Greif from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total value of $174,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 55,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,860,733.92. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.67, for a total value of $109,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,549 shares in the company, valued at $827,898.83. This represents a 11.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 96,987 shares of company stock worth $8,477,898 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Greif

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Greif by 75.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 524,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,352,000 after purchasing an additional 225,659 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 325,951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,067,000 after buying an additional 177,203 shares in the last quarter. EVR Research LP purchased a new stake in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter worth about $11,848,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Greif in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,052,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Greif by 35.0% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 246,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,361,000 after buying an additional 63,843 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Stock Performance

GEF opened at $84.66 on Wednesday. Greif has a 1-year low of $55.75 and a 1-year high of $90.57. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 7.53%.Greif’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Greif will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 17th. Greif’s payout ratio is currently 77.74%.

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.