UPDATE: Barrington Research Upgrades Greif to Outperform

Barrington Research raises its rating on Greif GEF to Outperform from Perform on expectations of a better EBITDA in 2013. Price target is established at $65 a share. Barrington Research notes, "We believe that GEF has the potential to accelerate earnings growth in 2013 due to the Saudi Arabia joint venture and various geographic recoveries. We are lowering our 2012 EPS to $3.35 from $3.38. Our Q2/12 EPS is being lowered to $0.65 from $0.78 due to the near-term challenges. GEF is currently trading at 2012 EV/EBITDA multiple of 6.6x. GEF's declaration of a quarterly dividend of $0.42 (Class A shares) and $0.63 (Class B shares) as of February 27, 2012, highlights the generous 3.3% dividend yield." GEF closed at $49.09 a share on Thursday.