Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook for Greif Q4 Earnings

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q4 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Greif in a report issued on Wednesday, September 30th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the industrial products company will earn $1.09 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.12. The consensus estimate for Greif’s current full-year earnings is $4.29 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Greif’s Q1 2027 earnings at $0.71 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.19 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.56 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.80 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $1.56 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $4.91 EPS.

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

Greif Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE GEF opened at $82.11 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.11. Greif has a fifty-two week low of $55.75 and a fifty-two week high of $90.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.50. Greif had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 8.09%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Greif Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Greif

In other news, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.67, for a total value of $109,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $827,898.83. The trade was a 11.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total transaction of $166,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 53,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,475,592.48. This represents a 3.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 98,987 shares of company stock valued at $8,644,178. Corporate insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Greif by 12.1% in 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 position in shares of Greif by 18.6% during 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 raised its position in shares of Greif by 362.2% during 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,749,000 after purchasing an additional 8,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Odyssean LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 15,426 shares in the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Greif News

Here are the key news stories impacting Greif this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks lifted its FY2027 EPS forecast to $4.48 from $4.15, Q4 2027 EPS to $1.02 from $0.91, and Q2 2028 EPS to $1.14 from $1.05. These revisions suggest improving expectations for Greif’s earnings outlook. Greif analyst estimate revisions
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also raised its FY2028 EPS forecast to $4.91 from $4.65, while increasing estimates for Q1 2028 EPS to $0.80 from $0.73 and Q3 2028 EPS to $1.56 from $1.45. The longer-term upgrades indicate expectations for sustained profit growth. Greif long-term earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: For comparison, the current consensus estimate for Greif’s full-year earnings is $4.30 per share. Zacks estimates FY2026 EPS at $4.28, slightly below consensus, but forecasts FY2027 and FY2028 earnings above the current-year level, implying anticipated earnings momentum beyond FY2026. Greif earnings consensus
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks lowered its FY2026 EPS forecast to $4.28 from $4.31, Q4 2026 EPS to $1.09 from $1.12, and Q1 2027 EPS to $0.71 from $0.72. The modest cuts could limit near-term upside and signal some pressure on upcoming results. Greif near-term earnings revisions

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.