Analysts Set Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) PT at $76.33

Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.00.

GEF has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Greif from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Greif to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 target price (up from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, July 9th.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of GEF stock opened at $66.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.78. Greif has a one year low of $48.23 and a one year high of $73.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.40 by ($0.37). Greif had a net margin of 3.74% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Greif will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Greif’s payout ratio is presently 60.85%.

Insider Activity at Greif

In related news, CEO Ole G. Rosgaard sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 74,027 shares in the company, valued at $5,181,890. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gary R. Martz sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total value of $1,998,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,698,015.40. The trade was a 29.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 94,741 shares of company stock valued at $6,448,252 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Greif

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Greif by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,251,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,797,000 after buying an additional 55,948 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new stake in Greif during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,279,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Greif by 4.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 596,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,805,000 after acquiring an additional 27,832 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Greif by 54.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 366,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,015,000 after purchasing an additional 128,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Greif by 0.9% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 312,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,817 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.