Greif (NYSE:GEF) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $66.02 and traded as high as $66.85. Greif shares last traded at $66.3680, with a volume of 152,808 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GEF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Greif from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 target price on Greif in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Greif from $71.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Greif from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.75.

Greif Trading Down 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $71.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.02.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $994.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 7.52%.The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Greif news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 6,705 shares of Greif stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.18 per share, for a total transaction of $611,361.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 207,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,912,190.88. This represents a 3.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 2,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.67, for a total value of $209,385.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 34,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,612,606.92. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 22,252 shares of company stock valued at $1,971,735 and have sold 54,211 shares valued at $3,950,846. Company insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GEF. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 899,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,872,000 after acquiring an additional 3,793 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in Greif by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 837,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,715,000 after purchasing an additional 79,813 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Greif by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 567,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Greif by 75.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 524,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,352,000 after purchasing an additional 225,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Medina Value Partners LLC raised its stake in Greif by 19.3% during the third quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 372,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,246,000 after purchasing an additional 60,338 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Company Profile

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.