Zacks Research Has Positive Outlook of Greif FY2026 Earnings

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 20th, 2026

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF – Free Report) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2026 EPS estimates for Greif in a research note issued on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the industrial products company will earn $4.31 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $3.84. Zacks Research has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Greif’s current full-year earnings is $4.18 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Greif’s Q2 2027 earnings at $1.08 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.43 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.91 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.73 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $4.65 EPS.

GEF has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Greif from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up from $78.00) on shares of Greif in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Greif from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Greif from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

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Greif Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of GEF opened at $87.58 on Thursday. Greif has a 1 year low of $55.75 and a 1 year high of $90.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.69. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.75.

Greif (NYSE:GEF – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Greif had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Greif by 106.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Greif by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Simplex Trading LLC increased its position in Greif by 399.5% in the 4th quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Greif in the first quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Greif in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Greif news, SVP Timothy Bergwall sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total value of $174,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 55,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,860,733.92. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $1,906,190.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,825 shares in the company, valued at $2,289,644.50. The trade was a 45.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 97,987 shares of company stock worth $8,498,748. 7.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Greif Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a boost from Greif’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Greif’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.74%.

Greif News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Greif this week:

Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised several earnings forecasts. FY2026 EPS was increased to $4.31 from $3.84, FY2028 EPS to $4.65 from $4.48, Q1 2028 EPS to $0.73 from $0.53, Q2 2027 EPS to $1.08 from $1.06, and Q3 2027 EPS to $1.43 from $1.41. These upgrades point to improved expectations for Greif’s profitability over the coming periods.
Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings performance provides additional support. Greif’s latest EPS and revenue both surpassed analyst expectations, and the company’s year-over-year revenue growth suggests resilient demand for its industrial packaging products.
Neutral Sentiment: Zacks maintained a “Hold” rating. The revisions do not represent a change in the firm’s overall recommendation, limiting the strength of the bullish signal. The current full-year consensus estimate remains $4.18 per share.
Negative Sentiment: Some future estimates were reduced. Zacks cut FY2027 EPS to $4.15 from $4.45, Q4 2027 EPS to $0.91 from $1.24, Q4 2026 EPS to $1.12 from $1.18, Q1 2027 EPS to $0.72 from $0.73, and Q2 2028 EPS to $1.05 from $1.18. These reductions suggest potential pressure on earnings in certain upcoming quarters.

Greif Company Profile

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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.