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

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

Greif Price Performance

GEF stock traded down $5.96 during trading on Thursday, hitting $54.40. The stock had a trading volume of 135,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 151,650. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.11. Greif has a 1-year low of $53.42 and a 1-year high of $73.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.94. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In other Greif news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $67.88 per share, with a total value of $37,334.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 748 shares of the company’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 value of $45,037.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,970,613.09. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired 6,225 shares of company stock worth $431,731 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.