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Greif (GEF) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Offing?

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Greif, Inc. (GEF - Free Report) is scheduled to release fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 (ended as of Oct 31, 2021) financial numbers, after the closing bell on Dec 8.

Q4 Estimates

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s earnings is pegged at $1.49 per share, suggesting year-over-year growth of 91%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for total revenues for the quarter under review is pinned at $1.45 billion, calling for an increase of 24.4% from the year-ago quarter’s levels.

Q3 Results

In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings and revenues beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate and increased year over year. Greif has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.5%, on average.

Greif, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

 

Greif, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Greif, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Greif, Inc. Quote

 

What Our Zacks Model Indicates

Our proven model conclusively predicts an earnings beat for Greif this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat.

You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Earnings ESP: The Earnings ESP for Greif is +4.03%.

Zacks Rank: Greif currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Key Factors

Greif’s fiscal fourth-quarter performance is likely to have benefited from its focus on operational execution and restructuring activities, which includes optimizing and integrating operations in the Paper Packaging & Services segment, rationalizing operations and closing underperforming assets in the Global Industrial Packaging segment. Also, the implementation of price hikes in response to robust demand and combat inflated costs is likely to have driven bottom-line growth in the to-be-reported quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Global Industrial Packaging segment’s sales is pegged at $850 million for the to-be-reported quarter, indicating 47% year-over-year growth. Adjusted operating profit in the segment is estimated at $92 million, indicating a year-over-year surge of 70%. The segment is gaining from strong key end markets and solid volume growth for chemicals, specialty chemicals and lubricants coupled with robust demand in global rigid Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) and large plastic drum. These factors are likely to have contributed to the segment’s results during the fiscal fourth quarter.

The company’s Paper Packaging segment is likely to have benefited from the Caraustar acquisition and various new capital growth projects during the quarter in discussion. The pandemic-related crisis and concern over the new Omicron variant will continue to fuel packaging demand for food, pharmaceutical and household goods industries until the situation stabilizes. These are anticipated to have contributed to the segment’s performance during the quarter to be reported. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the segment’s quarterly net sales is currently pegged at $590 million, calling for year-over-year growth of 17.5%. Adjusted operating profit in the segment is estimated at $47 million, calling for significant growth of 53%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Land Management segment’s revenues stands at $5 million compared with the year-ago quarter’s $6.7 million. The segment is expected to report an adjusted operating income of $1 million, indicating a decline from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $2.2 million.

Nevertheless, higher Old Corrugated Container (OCC) costs as well as escalating costs for raw materials used in paper making process might have marred the company’s margin during the fiscal fourth quarter.

Share Price Performance

Greif’s shares have gained 29.1% in the past year, compared with the industry’s growth of 12%.

Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment Research

Stocks Worth a Look

Here are some other stocks worth considering as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in the upcoming releases.

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.03% and a Zacks Rank of 2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter fiscal 2022 earnings has moved up 6% in the past 30 days to $1.78 per share, suggesting year-over-year growth of 0.03%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $2.6 billion, which indicates an improvement of 67.2% from the prior-year quarter’s levels. Analog Devices has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.1%, on average.

Bank of Montreal (BMO - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.63% and a Zacks Rank of 2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 earnings has moved up 2.8% in the past 30 days to $2.52 per share, suggesting 39.2% growth from the year-ago quarter’s tally.

Bank of Montreal has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 25.1%, on average. It has a long-term earnings growth of 11.3%.

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (KEYS - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.11% and a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 earnings has moved up 1.3% in the past 30 days to $1.56 per share, calling for year-over-year growth of 9%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $1.24 billion, which indicates an year-over-year improvement of 5.3%. Keysight Technologies has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 7.08%, on average.

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