Greif (NYSE:GEF) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Zacks Research cut shares of Greif (NYSE:GEF) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Greif from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Greif in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Greif from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Bank of America decreased their target price on Greif from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Greif from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Greif currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.50.

Greif Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of GEF stock opened at $66.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.95. Greif has a fifty-two week low of $48.23 and a fifty-two week high of $71.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer sold 33,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total transaction of $2,016,842.58. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 66,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,493.08. The trade was a 33.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary R. Martz sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.48, for a total value of $302,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,699,488. The trade was a 15.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 32,293 shares of company stock worth $2,145,733 and have sold 53,851 shares worth $3,227,003. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEF. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,251,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,797,000 after acquiring an additional 55,948 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Greif by 6.5% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 895,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,506,000 after purchasing an additional 54,256 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Greif by 4.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 596,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,805,000 after purchasing an additional 27,832 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Greif by 75.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 524,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,352,000 after purchasing an additional 225,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Medina Value Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Greif by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 372,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,246,000 after purchasing an additional 60,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

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.