LSV Asset Management Trims Position in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF)

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management has reduced its stake in Greif, Inc. by 5.9%, selling 41,359 shares and owning 663,791 shares valued at approximately $36.5 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Analysts have provided mixed ratings for Greif, with Wells Fargo lowering their price target from $75.00 to $67.00 while Bank of America raised theirs from $71.00 to $77.00, reflecting a Moderate Buy consensus rating.
• Greif announced a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share, with an annual dividend yield of 3.4%, alongside a reported earnings per share of $1.19 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.

LSV Asset Management lessened its holdings in Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 663,791 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 41,359 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 1.40% of Greif worth $36,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new position in Greif during the 4th quarter worth $46,279,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Greif by 7,222.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 233,370 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,264,000 after acquiring an additional 230,183 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Greif in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,473,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Greif during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,219,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Greif by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 298,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,229,000 after purchasing an additional 60,313 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Greif Price Performance

NYSE GEF traded up $0.49 on Thursday, hitting $66.53. The stock had a trading volume of 144,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,187. Greif, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.23 and a 52-week high of $73.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $64.63 and a 200-day moving average of $59.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.00.

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 4th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.11. Greif had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 3.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Greif's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.85%.

Insider Activity at Greif

In related news, CEO Ole G. Rosgaard sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 74,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,181,890. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.12, for a total value of $136,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 70,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,814,585.36. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 94,741 shares of company stock worth $6,448,252 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GEF shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Greif from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Greif from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $77.00 target price (up from $71.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Greif has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.83.

Greif 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.