Brokerages Set Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Target Price at $83.00

Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $83.00.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Bank of America cut Greif from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Greif from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th.

Greif Trading Down 1.6%

Greif stock opened at $87.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.75. Greif has a one year low of $55.75 and a one year high of $90.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.92.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Greif will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This is a boost from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Greif’s payout ratio is 77.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer sold 21,500 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,289,644.50. The trade was a 45.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 1,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.60, for a total value of $101,535.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,889,217.80. This represents a 5.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,987 shares of company stock worth $8,498,748. Insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Greif by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Greif in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,040,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Greif in the 2nd quarter worth $230,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Greif in the 2nd quarter worth $609,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Greif by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 2,072 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by 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.