Analysts Set Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) PT at $74.50

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.50.

GEF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Greif from $71.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Greif from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Greif from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Zacks Research raised Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 price target on Greif in a research report on Thursday, January 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Gaylord Benner sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.58, for a total value of $211,624.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,379.54. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.11, for a total value of $148,220.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 73,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,471,689.52. This represents a 2.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 22,252 shares of company stock worth $1,971,735 and sold 68,213 shares worth $4,886,426. 7.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in Greif by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 29,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,586 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC purchased a new position in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Greif in the 4th quarter worth approximately $525,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Greif by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 57,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,898,000 after buying an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in Greif by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 4,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of GEF opened at $76.95 on Friday. Greif has a fifty-two week low of $48.23 and a fifty-two week high of $77.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $71.15 and a 200 day moving average of $65.20. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $994.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 7.52%.Greif’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Greif will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 18th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is 82.96%.

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.