Insider Buying: Greif (NYSE:GEF) CFO Buys $611,361.90 in Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) CFO Lawrence Hilsheimer purchased 6,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.18 per share, with a total value of $611,361.90. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 207,416 shares in the company, valued at $18,912,190.88. This represents a 3.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Greif Stock Performance

NYSE GEF opened at $75.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Greif, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.23 and a 1-year high of $75.99. The company has a market cap 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.76.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $994.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Greif had a net margin of 7.52% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS 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 issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 18th. Greif’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.96%.

Key Greif News

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 Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Greif by 84.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 3,215 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Greif by 147.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $745,000 after acquiring an additional 6,835 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Greif by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 97,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,361,000 after purchasing an additional 3,509 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Greif during the second quarter worth approximately $1,240,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Greif by 0.4% during the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 115,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,517,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 45.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GEF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Greif from $71.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Greif from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Zacks Research raised Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. 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 research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 price objective on Greif in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.50.

Greif Company Profile

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.