Zacks Research Analysts Lower Earnings Estimates for Greif

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research dropped their Q4 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Greif in a research report issued on Wednesday, September 30th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings of $1.09 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.12. The consensus estimate for Greif’s current full-year earnings is $4.30 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Greif’s Q1 2027 earnings at $0.71 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.19 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.56 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.80 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $1.56 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $4.91 EPS.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.86 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Greif from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $97.00 price target (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Greif from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

Greif Price Performance

GEF stock opened at $81.40 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.06. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.77. Greif has a one year low of $55.75 and a one year high of $90.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Institutional Trading of Greif

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Greif by 106.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Greif by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Greif during the first quarter valued at about $201,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Greif during the second quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Greif during the fourth quarter worth about $247,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 6,000 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.26, for a total value of $511,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 57,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,930,756.32. The trade was a 9.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lawrence Hilsheimer sold 21,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $1,906,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,289,644.50. This trade represents a 45.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,987 shares of company stock valued at $8,644,178. 7.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 17th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.74%.

Key Greif News

Here are the key news stories impacting Greif this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Higher long-term earnings forecasts: Zacks Research raised its fiscal 2028 EPS estimate to $4.91 from $4.65. It also lifted estimates for the second and third quarters of fiscal 2027, and for the first and third quarters of fiscal 2028. These revisions suggest analysts see improving earnings potential beyond the immediate reporting periods. Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Outlook for Greif Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings date announced: Greif will release fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter results after the market closes on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, followed by a conference call. The report could provide further insight into packaging demand, margins and the company’s earnings outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term estimates trimmed: Zacks reduced its fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 EPS forecast to $1.09 from $1.12 and its first-quarter 2027 estimate to $0.71 from $0.72. The cuts underpin the “pessimistic” characterization of the near-term outlook and could limit enthusiasm ahead of the earnings release.

About Greif

Greif, Inc (NYSE: GEF) is a global producer of industrial packaging and paper-based products. The company manufactures and sells steel, plastic and fiber drums; rigid intermediate bulk containers; containerboard; corrugated sheets and products; and other packaging solutions used to transport and protect goods.

Greif serves customers across industries including food and beverage, chemicals, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, industrial manufacturing and consumer products. Its operations span North America, Europe and other international markets, supporting customers through a network of manufacturing, recycling and distribution facilities.

Founded in 1877, Greif has expanded from a paper and timber business into a diversified packaging company.