Greif, Inc. $GEF Stake Decreased by Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 797,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 39,830 shares during the period. Greif accounts for approximately 1.0% of Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.’s holdings in Greif were worth $53,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Greif by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Greif during the 2nd quarter worth $1,040,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Greif in the second quarter worth $230,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Greif during the second quarter valued at $609,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Greif by 50.3% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 2,072 shares during the period. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Greif Stock Performance

NYSE:GEF opened at $74.97 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.89 and a 200-day moving average of $69.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Greif, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.75 and a twelve month high of $77.14.

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

Greif Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a $0.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is 95.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Greif news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total transaction of $130,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 65,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,296,196.32. The trade was a 2.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 90 days, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $406,680. Company insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

Greif Profile

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.