Greif (NYSE:GEF) SVP Gaylord Benner Sells 2,800 Shares of Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) SVP Gaylord Benner sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.58, for a total transaction of $211,624.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,379.54. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of Greif stock opened at $75.38 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.23 and a twelve month high of $75.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.78. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Greif Dividend Announcement

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

Greif News Summary

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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Trading of Greif

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GEF. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Greif by 36.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Greif in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new stake in Greif in the second quarter valued at $214,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Greif in the second quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Greif during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.