What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for Greif Q1 Earnings?

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) – Zacks Research raised their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Greif in a report released on Tuesday, December 24th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings of $0.75 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.69. The consensus estimate for Greif’s current full-year earnings is $4.49 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Greif’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.19 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.36 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.21 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.33 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.46 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $1.35 EPS.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.23). Greif had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. Greif’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on GEF. Sidoti initiated coverage on Greif in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Greif from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Greif has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.67.

Greif Price Performance

Shares of GEF opened at $61.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92. Greif has a twelve month low of $55.95 and a twelve month high of $73.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.20 and a 200 day moving average of $63.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GEF. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Greif by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 753,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,321,000 after purchasing an additional 280,330 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Greif by 17.6% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 540,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,053,000 after buying an additional 80,754 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Greif during the second quarter worth $4,012,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Greif by 16.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 372,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,381,000 after acquiring an additional 53,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Greif by 450.3% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after acquiring an additional 46,176 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greif

In related news, Director B Andrew Rose acquired 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $70.20 per share, with a total value of $245,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $245,700. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer bought 1,075 shares of Greif stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.14 per share, with a total value of $74,325.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,426 shares in the company, valued at $11,437,553.64. This represents a 0.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 6,225 shares of company stock valued at $431,731. Insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Greif Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.79%.

About Greif

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.