Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $79.40.

A number of equities analysts have commented on GEF shares. Sidoti started coverage on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $67.00 price target (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Greif in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Greif from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Greif from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEF. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Greif by 24,865.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 5,719 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Greif by 4.6% during the 1st 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 during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in Greif by 133.9% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 13,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 7,468 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position 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 buying an additional 886 shares during the period. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Greif by 11.9% in 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

Shares of NYSE:GEF opened at $72.15 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.66. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.70. Greif has a one year low of $55.95 and a one year high of $73.16.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Greif will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.