Greif Optimizes Portfolio With Timberlands Business Sale

Greif, Inc. GEF announced that it closed the previously stated sale of its timberlands business to Molpus Woodlands Group. This move will help Greif's debt-reduction efforts and boost its capital efficiency.

Details of Greif’s Timberlands Sale

In early August, Greif inked a definitive agreement with Molpus Woodlands to divest its Soterra land management business as part of its ongoing portfolio optimization. The sale includes around 173,000 acres of timberlands in the Southeastern United States. The deal was set at $462 million.

The move will help Greif focus on its core business and further invest in higher-margin, less cyclical markets.

GEF’s Focus on Portfolio Optimization

In September, Grief closed the sale of its containerboard business to Packaging Corporation of America PKG. GEF’s containerboard business includes two containerboard mills. These have a production capacity of 800,000 tons. The business also includes eight sheet feeder and corrugated plants located across the United States.

This sale aligns with Greif’s Build to Last strategy. It marks a significant step toward portfolio optimization, capital efficiency and accelerated growth. Improved capital efficiency will help the company reduce the need for recurring capital expenditure, allowing it to pay down debt and unlock value-creation opportunities.

The cash proceeds from the sale of the containerboard business to Packaging Corp and the sale of the timberlands business are expected to lower GEF’s leverage ratio to below 1.2X. This will bolster the company’s balance sheet and generate substantial interest savings going into fiscal 2026.

Greif’s Stock Price Performance

The company’s shares have gained 0.7% in a year against the industry’s 14.3% decline.

GEF’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Greif currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks from the Industrial Products sector are Flowserve Corporation FLS and Life360, Inc. LIF. Both these companies have a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Flowserve’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $3.34 per share, indicating a year-over-year increase of 27%. Flowserve’s shares have gained 14.5% in a year.

Life360 delivered an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 487%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LIF’s 2025 earnings is pinned at 29 cents per share, which indicates a year-over-year upsurge of 583%. Life360’s shares have skyrocketed 137.8% in a year.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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