Greif (NYSE:GEF) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $74.81 and last traded at $74.8450, with a volume of 9298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.37.

Key Headlines Impacting Greif

Here are the key news stories impacting Greif this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CFO Lawrence Hilsheimer bought roughly 18,322 shares across Feb. 3–4 (total purchase value ~\$1.63M), a strong insider buy that can be seen as management confidence in the business and supports the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan made small purchases (100 and 200 shares on Feb. 3–4), a modest insider buy that provides additional alignment with shareholders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Many insiders executed both buys and sells on nearby dates (different prices and sizes). Paired activity can reflect option exercises, tax/timing needs or rebalancing rather than a pure operational signal — interpret cautiously. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Net insider selling is significant: CFO sold 22,778 shares (~\$1.64M), EVP Bala sold ~13,337 shares (~\$992k across multiple trades) and SVP Kimberly Kellermann sold 5,265 shares (~\$379k). Aggregate proceeds exceed buys, which can exert near?term pressure on the stock. Read More. Read More. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GEF shares. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Greif in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research raised Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Greif from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Greif from $71.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Greif from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

Greif Stock Up 1.9%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.21). Greif had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 7.52%.The company had revenue of $994.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th were paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.96%.

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other news, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 10,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total transaction of $811,766.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,756,844.30. The trade was a 22.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer sold 33,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.58, for a total value of $2,016,842.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 66,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,493.08. The trade was a 33.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 52,726 shares of company stock valued at $3,958,815 and have sold 116,064 shares valued at $7,723,929. Company insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Greif

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 895,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,506,000 after purchasing an additional 54,256 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Greif in the second quarter valued at about $1,061,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Greif by 21.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,131 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,522,000 after buying an additional 23,422 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Greif during the third quarter worth about $1,220,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Greif during the second quarter worth approximately $690,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

About Greif

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.