Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Receives $73.50 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) have received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.25.

GEF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Greif from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Bank of America downgraded Greif from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Greif from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Greif news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total value of $146,280.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 63,832 shares in the company, valued at $4,668,672.48. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $412,120 over the last three months. 7.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Greif by 106.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Greif by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Greif in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Simplex Trading LLC raised its stake in Greif by 399.5% in the fourth quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in Greif during the first quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of GEF opened at $76.35 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.43. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.76. Greif has a 1-year low of $55.75 and a 1-year high of $77.14.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.06). Greif had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 7.27%.The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Greif will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Greif’s payout ratio is currently 95.02%.

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.