Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Outlook for Greif Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research lowered Greif’s FY2026 EPS estimate to $4.28 from $4.31, slightly below the $4.30 consensus, while forecasting FY2027 EPS of $4.48.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $83; individual targets range from $70 to $97.
• Greif recently beat quarterly earnings expectations with $1.61 EPS and $1.17 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share, or a 3.0% yield. However, insiders sold nearly 99,000 shares worth $8.6 million over the past 90 days.

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Greif in a research note issued on Wednesday, September 30th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $4.28 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $4.31. The consensus estimate for Greif's current full-year earnings is $4.30 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Greif's Q4 2027 earnings at $1.02 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $4.48 EPS and Q2 2028 earnings at $1.14 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on GEF. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America lowered shares of Greif from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Greif from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Greif from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.00.

Greif Trading Up 2.3%

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

Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for 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%. Greif's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS.

Greif Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 17th. Greif's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Greif

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Greif by 12.1% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,015 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 3,304 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased 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 valued at $2,362,000 after acquiring an additional 24,846 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew 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 valued at $2,749,000 after buying an additional 8,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Odyssean LLC increased its stake in shares of Greif by 500.8% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories 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.

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.

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