Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Greif (NYSE:GEF) Stock Price

Greif (NYSE:GEF) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $68.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.44% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on GEF. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Greif in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Greif from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Greif from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.20.

Greif Price Performance

NYSE GEF traded up $0.88 during trading on Friday, hitting $58.40. 130,079 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 188,254. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Greif has a 12-month low of $48.23 and a 12-month high of $73.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.27. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.04.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.23 million. Greif had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 3.52%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Greif will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.09, for a total value of $120,180.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 64,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,886,501.02. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEF. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Greif during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Greif during the second quarter valued at about $214,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Greif during the second quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Greif in the 2nd quarter valued at about $227,000. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.