Greif (NYSE:GEF) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Greif (NYSE:GEF) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Greif from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Greif from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Greif from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Greif in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Greif from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.50.

Greif Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of GEF opened at $66.18 on Tuesday. Greif has a twelve month low of $48.23 and a twelve month high of $71.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.43.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other news, EVP Gary R. Martz sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.48, for a total value of $302,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,100 shares in the company, valued at $1,699,488. This trade represents a 15.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 62,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,760,680. The trade was a 3.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 32,293 shares of company stock worth $2,145,733 and sold 53,851 shares worth $3,227,003. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GEF. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Greif during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Greif by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new stake in Greif in the second quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Greif during the second quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Greif in the second quarter valued at $227,000. 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.