Greif (NYSE:GEF) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.33 EPS

Greif (NYSE:GEF) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.33), Zacks reports. Greif had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion.

Greif Trading Up 2.1 %

GEF stock traded up $1.15 on Friday, reaching $56.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 96,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,637. The firm has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.06. Greif has a 12-month low of $53.42 and a 12-month high of $73.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Greif Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In other Greif news, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total value of $45,037.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at $1,970,613.09. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 550 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $67.88 per share, for a total transaction of $37,334.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 162,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,006,809.88. This trade represents a 0.34 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GEF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Greif from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Greif from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Greif from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.17.

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.