Greif Earnings Preview

Investors hope Greif (NYSE: GEF  ) will top analyst estimates once again after beating predictions by $0.08 in the previous quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday, August 31. Greif produces industrial packaging products with manufacturing facilities located in over 45 countries. Its products include steel, fibre and plastic drums, intermediate bulk containers, closure systems for industrial packaging.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Half of analysts think investors should stand pat on Greif while the remaining half rate the stock as a buy. Analysts like Greif better than competitor Silgan Holdings overall. Three out of seven analysts rate Silgan Holdings a buy compared to two of four for Greif. Analysts haven't adjusted their rating of Greif for the past three months.
• Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $1.11 billion in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 20.5% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $1.33 per share. Estimates range from $1.28 to $1.40.

What our community says:
CAPS All Stars are solidly backing the stock, with 99.2% giving it an "outperform" rating. The community at large agrees with the All Stars, with 97.6% granting it a rating of "outperform." Fools are keen on Greif, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 97 posts in the past 30 days. Greif has a bullish CAPS rating of five out of five stars that is about on par with the Fool community assessment.

Management:
Greif's profit has risen year over year by an average of 37.2% over the past five quarters.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters.

One final thing: If you want to keep tabs on Greif movements, and for more analysis on the company, make sure you add it to your Watchlist.

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