Brokerages Set Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) PT at $79.40

Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.40.

A number of analysts have weighed in on GEF shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 target price (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Sidoti initiated coverage on shares of Greif in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Greif in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GEF. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Greif by 24,865.2% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 5,719 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Greif by 4.6% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in Greif by 133.9% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 13,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 7,468 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Greif by 5.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Greif by 11.9% during the second quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,132 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,387,000 after buying an additional 2,559 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Greif Stock Performance

Greif stock opened at $71.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.91. Greif has a 1-year low of $55.95 and a 1-year high of $71.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $64.18 and its 200 day moving average is $62.61.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.14). Greif had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Research analysts forecast that Greif will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Greif’s payout ratio is currently 46.96%.

Greif Company Profile

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.