Insider Buying: Greif (NYSE:GEF) EVP Purchases $159,549.10 in Stock

Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF) EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan bought 1,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.10 per share, with a total value of $159,549.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $592,913. The trade was a 36.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Bala Sathyanarayanan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 5th, Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 10,838 shares of Greif stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total transaction of $811,766.20.
• On Tuesday, February 3rd, Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 2,499 shares of Greif stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.29, for a total transaction of $180,652.71.
• On Tuesday, February 3rd, Bala Sathyanarayanan acquired 100 shares of Greif stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $87.69 per share, with a total value of $8,769.00.
• On Wednesday, February 4th, Bala Sathyanarayanan purchased 200 shares of Greif stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $89.22 per share, with a total value of $17,844.00.
• On Wednesday, December 10th, Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 7,000 shares of Greif stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total transaction of $466,340.00.

Greif Price Performance

GEF opened at $75.38 on Monday. Greif, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.23 and a 12 month high of $75.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.74. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.21). Greif had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 7.52%.The business had revenue of $994.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Greif, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Greif Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Greif by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 899,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,793 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in Greif by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 837,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,715,000 after buying an additional 79,813 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Greif by 75.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 524,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,352,000 after acquiring an additional 225,659 shares during the period. Medina Value Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Greif by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 372,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,246,000 after purchasing an additional 60,338 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in Greif by 0.9% during the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 312,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,312,000 after buying an additional 2,817 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company’s stock.

More 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on GEF. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Greif from $71.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Greif from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Greif from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 target price on Greif in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Greif from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.