Greif (NYSE:GEF) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Greif (NYSE:GEF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on GEF. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Greif in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a hold rating and a $71.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Greif from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $80.50.

Greif Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE GEF opened at $57.17 on Tuesday. Greif has a 1 year low of $56.50 and a 1 year high of $76.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.48. The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.57.

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

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In other Greif news, VP Gary R. Martz bought 1,807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.37 per share, with a total value of $123,544.59. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 23,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,579,347. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Greif by 162,700.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $176,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $192,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Greif during the 3rd quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Greif during the 4th quarter worth $229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

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.