Greif (NYSE:GEF) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Greif (NYSE:GEF – Get Rating) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Greif Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GEF opened at $63.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.19 and a 200 day moving average of $66.91. Greif has a 52-week low of $57.10 and a 52-week high of $74.22.

Greif (NYSE:GEF – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.20). Greif had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 25.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Greif will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tina R. Schoner acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $61.30 per share, for a total transaction of $61,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $61,300. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Tina R. Schoner acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $61.30 per share, for a total transaction of $61,300.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,300. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $69.40 per share, with a total value of $249,840.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,564,044.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 8,437 shares of company stock worth $578,287 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GEF. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,198,269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,356,000 after purchasing an additional 35,857 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Greif by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 537,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,045,000 after purchasing an additional 25,424 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Greif by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 494,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter valued at $16,669,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Greif by 369.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 239,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,180,000 after acquiring an additional 188,488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.25% of the company’s stock.

About Greif

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Greif, Inc engages in the production of industrial packaging products and services. It operates through the following segments: Global Industrial Packaging, Paper Packaging & Services, and Land Management. The Global Industrial Packaging segment involves the production of industrial packaging products, such as steel, fiber & plastic drums, rigid & flexible intermediate bulk containers, closure systems for industrial packaging products, transit protection products, water bottles, and remanufactured & reconditioned industrial containers.