Greif (NYSE:GEF) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $53.10 and last traded at $53.65, with a volume of 24658 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Greif from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.00.

Greif Trading Down 3.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.02.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.33). Greif had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In related news, VP David C. Lloyd sold 2,263 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total transaction of $125,008.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,719.20. This trade represents a 22.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Emkes purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $55.89 per share, with a total value of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 44,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,473,523.73. The trade was a 7.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Greif by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 2,321 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Greif during the third quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 97.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 34,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 16,759 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Greif in the third quarter worth $610,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Greif by 14.3% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 15,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.