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

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

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Greif from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $97.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.26, for a total transaction of $511,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 57,832 shares in the company, valued at $4,930,756.32. The trade was a 9.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $1,906,190.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,825 shares in the company, valued at $2,289,644.50. This trade represents a 45.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 97,987 shares of company stock worth $8,498,748. Corporate 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 company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Greif by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 899,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,793 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its position in shares of Greif by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 837,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,715,000 after buying an additional 79,813 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Greif by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 567,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,408,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 225,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Greif Price Performance

Greif stock opened at $87.39 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 firm has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $76.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.37. Greif has a 52 week low of $55.75 and a 52 week high of $90.57.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.50. Greif had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Greif will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.