Zacks Research Weighs in on Greif, Inc.’s FY2024 Earnings (NYSE:GEF)

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) – Zacks Research lifted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Greif in a report issued on Wednesday, June 26th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $4.16 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $3.63. The consensus estimate for Greif’s current full-year earnings is $4.40 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Greif’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.96 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.45 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.97 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $1.16 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on GEF. Bank of America upgraded shares of Greif from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $76.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com raised Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Greif in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Greif from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.50.

Greif Price Performance

GEF opened at $56.72 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.57. Greif has a 52-week low of $56.50 and a 52-week high of $76.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Greif had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 5.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 18th. Greif’s payout ratio is 44.73%.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other news, VP Gary R. Martz bought 1,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.37 per share, for a total transaction of $123,544.59. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 23,100 shares in the company, valued at $1,579,347. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Gary R. Martz acquired 1,807 shares of Greif stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.37 per share, with a total value of $123,544.59. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 23,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,579,347. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Gary R. Martz acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.98 per share, for a total transaction of $275,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,018 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,901.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Greif by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 409,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,853,000 after purchasing an additional 15,169 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Greif by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 402,383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,883,000 after buying an additional 24,230 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 281,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,791,000 after acquiring an additional 7,202 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Greif in the fourth quarter worth about $10,972,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Greif by 203.9% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 136,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,413,000 after acquiring an additional 91,461 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Greif Company 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.