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PCA announces plans to close Ohio plant. Columbus, Wisconsin based Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) has announced its plans to close its full-line plant in Middletown, Ohio, as the company consolidates the facility's operations into larger locations. According to a WARN notice filed with the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services, the closure will affect 91 employees at the Baltimore Street facility. The employees' final day is expected to be December 1, with PCA planning to fully vacate the building by the end of the year. PCA said the decision is part of a consolidation into "larger and more efficient operations," including its new $275 million facility outside Columbus, Ohio, which opened this summer. The company said it will provide assistance to affected employees and help those interested in transferring to other PCA locations with open positions. PCA is the latest packaging company to announce a facility closure. Greif plans to close its Sweetwater paperboard mill in Austell, Georgia, by the end of the year, affecting 95 employees and ending the company's production of coated recycled paperboard. McKinley Paper and Packaging Co. is also approaching the permanent closure of its Cerritos, California facility. The closure will affect 45 employees, with the first separations scheduled for November 30. Spread the love

Greif stock earnings estimates decreased by Zacks Research. October 1, 2026 Key points. * Zacks Research lowered Greif's Q4 2026 EPS estimate to $1.09 from $1.12, while forecasting full-year 2028 EPS of $4.91. * Greif's latest quarter exceeded expectations, with EPS of $1.61 versus the $1.11 consensus and revenue of $1.17 billion, up 3.5% year over year. * Analyst sentiment remains mixed, resulting in an average "Hold" rating and $83 price target; Greif also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.62, yielding about 3.1% annually. * Five stocks to consider instead of Greif. Greif, Inc. (NYSE:GEF - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q4 2026 earnings per share estimates for Greif in a report issued on Wednesday, September 30th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings of $1.09 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.12. The consensus estimate for Greif's current full-year earnings is $4.30 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Greif's Q1 2027 earnings at $0.71 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.19 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.56 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.80 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $1.56 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $4.91 EPS. Greif (NYSE:GEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.50. Greif had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Greif's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on GEF. Bank of America lowered shares of Greif from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Truist Financial restated 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Greif from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Greif from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Greif from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.00. Discover more Stock market news All Access membership Greif price performance. NYSE GEF opened at $79.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.96. Greif has a 52-week low of $55.75 and a 52-week high of $90.57. Institutional trading of Greif. Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Greif by 35.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 246,492 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,361,000 after purchasing an additional 63,843 shares during the last quarter. EVR Research LP acquired a new position in shares of Greif during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,848,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Greif by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 90,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,099,000 after purchasing an additional 5,071 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Greif by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,749,000 after purchasing an additional 8,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in shares of Greif by 362.2% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,706 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,362,000 after buying an additional 24,846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.74% of the company's stock. Insiders place their bets. In related news, EVP Bala Sathyanarayanan sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.67, for a total value of $109,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $827,898.83. This trade represents a 11.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lawrence A. Hilsheimer sold 21,500 shares of Greif stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $1,906,190.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 98,987 shares of company stock valued at $8,644,178 over the last 90 days. 7.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Greif dividend announcement. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Greif's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.74%. Greif company profile. Greif, Inc NYSE: GEF is a global producer of industrial packaging and paper-based products. The company manufactures and sells steel, plastic and fiber drums; rigid intermediate bulk containers; containerboard; corrugated sheets and products; and other packaging solutions used to transport and protect goods. Greif serves customers across industries including food and beverage, chemicals, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, industrial manufacturing and consumer products. Its operations span North America, Europe and other international markets, supporting customers through a network of manufacturing, recycling and distribution facilities. Founded in 1877, Greif has expanded from a paper and timber business into a diversified packaging company. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. Before you consider Greif, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Greif wasn't on the list. While Greif currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. AI spending is reshaping the market, and the opportunity extends far beyond the biggest chipmakers. Discover 10 stocks set to benefit from powerful trends in AI infrastructure, cloud computing, energy, capital returns, and consumer growth this fall. Continue following MarketBeat