Greif (NYSE:GEF) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Greif (NYSE:GEF) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research raised Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America cut Greif from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Greif from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Greif has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.00.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of GEF opened at $88.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $74.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.80. Greif has a fifty-two week low of $55.75 and a fifty-two week high of $90.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.75.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Greif had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 8.09%. Greif’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Greif will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other news, Director Mark A. Emkes sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.04, for a total transaction of $261,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,777,536. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.26, for a total value of $511,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 57,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,930,756.32. The trade was a 9.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 53,087 shares of company stock valued at $4,524,221. Corporate insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEF. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 1.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Greif by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Greif by 106.0% in 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 period. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.