Greif (NYSE:GEF) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $77.42 and last traded at $76.41, with a volume of 13485 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $76.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Greif from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America cut shares of Greif from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Greif from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Greif from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Greif presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $74.25.

Greif Stock Up 2.4%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.76.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.06). Greif had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 7.50%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Greif’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Greif, Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In other news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total transaction of $146,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 63,832 shares in the company, valued at $4,668,672.48. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $412,120. 7.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Greif by 106.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Greif by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Greif in the fourth quarter valued at $84,000. Simplex Trading LLC lifted its position in shares of Greif by 399.5% during the 4th quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Greif during the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Company Profile

Greif, Inc is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, with a history dating back to its founding in 1877. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has evolved from a regional barrel and drum manufacturer into a diversified packaging provider serving a wide range of end markets. Greif’s longstanding heritage in container solutions has positioned it as a trusted partner for customers seeking reliable, high-quality packaging options.

The company’s core business revolves around the design, manufacture and sale of industrial packaging products, including steel, plastic and fiber drums; intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); safety closures; rigid, flexible and reconditioned packaging; containerboard and protective packaging.