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

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) SVP Gaylord Benner sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.58, for a total transaction of $211,624.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,379.54. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Greif Price Performance

GEF stock opened at $75.38 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.96. Greif, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.23 and a 1 year high of $75.99.

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 company had revenue of $994.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greif Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greif

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Greif by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 895,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,506,000 after purchasing an additional 54,256 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Greif during the 2nd quarter worth $1,061,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 23,422 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Greif in the third quarter valued at about $1,220,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Greif during the second quarter worth about $690,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GEF. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Greif from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Greif from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research raised Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 price objective on Greif in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Six investment 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.

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.