Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.00.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America cut Greif from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $97.00 price target (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Greif from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In other news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.26, for a total value of $511,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 57,832 shares in the company, valued at $4,930,756.32. This represents a 9.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark A. Emkes sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.04, for a total value of $261,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,777,536. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,987 shares of company stock worth $8,644,178. Insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Greif

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Greif by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Greif by 18.6% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 3,304 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Greif by 362.2% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,706 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 24,846 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Greif by 29.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,749,000 after purchasing an additional 8,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Odyssean LLC increased its stake in shares of Greif by 500.8% in the second quarter. Odyssean LLC now owns 18,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 15,426 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Greif

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.

Greif Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of GEF stock opened at $81.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Greif has a 12-month low of $55.75 and a 12-month high of $90.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $84.77 and its 200 day moving average is $74.06.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Greif had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 8.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. Research analysts expect that Greif will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.74%.

Greif Company Profile

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.