Greif (NYSE:GEF) Reaches New 12-Month Low on Disappointing Earnings

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $54.93 and last traded at $55.84, with a volume of 38419 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.35.

The industrial products company reported $0.39 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Greif from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Sidoti initiated coverage on shares of Greif in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.33.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other Greif news, Director B Andrew Rose acquired 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.20 per share, for a total transaction of $245,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $245,700. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $45,037.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,970,613.09. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Greif

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEF. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new stake in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,279,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Greif by 7,222.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 233,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,264,000 after buying an additional 230,183 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,219,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Greif by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 298,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,229,000 after buying an additional 60,313 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Greif by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 524,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,874,000 after buying an additional 44,473 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Trading Down 7.5 %

The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.11.

About Greif

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.