Greif (NYSE:GEF) Hits New 52-Week Low at $56.50

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $56.50 and last traded at $56.51, with a volume of 33888 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GEF shares. Bank of America raised shares of Greif from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $76.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Greif in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Greif from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.50.

Greif Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $62.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.53.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Greif had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.73%.

Insider Activity at Greif

In related news, VP Gary R. Martz acquired 1,807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.37 per share, with a total value of $123,544.59. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 23,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,579,347. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Greif by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 409,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,853,000 after buying an additional 15,169 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Greif by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 402,383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,883,000 after buying an additional 24,230 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Greif during the 4th quarter worth about $10,972,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Greif by 203.9% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 136,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,413,000 after buying an additional 91,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Greif by 318.7% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 133,169 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,735,000 after buying an additional 101,363 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Greif

Greif, Inc engages in the production and sale of industrial packaging products and services worldwide. The company operates through Global Industrial Packaging; Paper Packaging & Services; and Land Management segments. The Global Industrial Packaging segment produces and sells industrial packaging products, including steel, fiber, and plastic drums; rigid and flexible intermediate bulk containers; closure systems for industrial packaging products; transit protection products; water bottles, and remanufactured and reconditioned industrial containers; and various services, such as container life cycle management, filling, logistics, warehousing, and other packaging services to chemicals, paints and pigments, food and beverage, petroleum, industrial coatings, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, mineral product, and other industries.