Greif (NYSE:GEF) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $56.50

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) hit 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. The stock had previously closed at $56.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on GEF shares. 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 research report on Friday, June 7th. StockNews.com lowered Greif from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Truist Financial started coverage on Greif in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Greif from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $76.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.50.

Greif Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.63.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Greif, Inc. will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 18th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Greif news, VP Gary R. Martz bought 1,807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.37 per share, for a total transaction of $123,544.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 23,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,579,347. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Greif news, VP Gary R. Martz bought 1,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.37 per share, for a total transaction of $123,544.59. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 23,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,579,347. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Gary R. Martz acquired 4,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.98 per share, with a total value of $275,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 17,018 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,901.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Greif by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 409,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,853,000 after buying an additional 15,169 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Greif by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 402,383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,883,000 after acquiring an additional 24,230 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter worth $10,972,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Greif by 203.9% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 136,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,413,000 after purchasing an additional 91,461 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Greif by 318.7% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 133,169 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,735,000 after purchasing an additional 101,363 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

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.