7,200 Shares in Greif, Inc. $GEF Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $483,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Greif by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 837,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,715,000 after buying an additional 79,813 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 631.5% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 26,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 22,483 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 91.5% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 18,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 372,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,246,000 after acquiring an additional 60,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EVR Research LP acquired a new stake in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter worth $11,848,000. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Greif Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE GEF opened at $71.65 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.28. Greif, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.75 and a twelve month high of $77.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.76.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Greif had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 7.50%. Greif’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Greif’s payout ratio is presently 95.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GEF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Greif from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Greif from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Greif from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.50.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In related news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total value of $130,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 65,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,296,196.32. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $406,680. 7.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Greif

Greif, Inc is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, with a history dating back to its founding in 1877. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has evolved from a regional barrel and drum manufacturer into a diversified packaging provider serving a wide range of end markets. Greif’s longstanding heritage in container solutions has positioned it as a trusted partner for customers seeking reliable, high-quality packaging options.

The company’s core business revolves around the design, manufacture and sale of industrial packaging products, including steel, plastic and fiber drums; intermediate bulk containers (IBCs); safety closures; rigid, flexible and reconditioned packaging; containerboard and protective packaging.