(GEF) - 31.8% positive earnings surprise and soared past earnings in the prior-year period by a robust 64.8%

Greif, Inc. (GEF), first highlighted as a Growth and Income stock on Jul 19, continues to impress. In addition to holding on to its Zacks #1 Rank status, the company also increased its fiscal 2006 earnings per share guidance after delivering strong results in the third quarter. The Board of Directors recently declared quarterly cash dividends of 36 cents per share of Class A Common Stock and 54 cents per share of Class B Common Stock. Full Analysis Greif, Inc. is engaged in the manufacture and sale of industrial packaging products, and containerboard and corrugated products worldwide. The company has over 160 operating locations in more than 40 countries. It has been almost two months since GEF was first presented as a Growth and Income pick back on Jul 19. With only the very top 5% of stocks attaining the coveted Zacks #1 Rank designation, maintaining it can prove to be an impressive task. By receiving upward estimate revisions and by posting earnings per share surprises, GEF has remained in this elite class. In the time that has elapsed since its debut, GEF reported third-quarter fiscal 2006 profits of $1.45 per share. This amounted to a 31.8% positive surprise and soared past earnings in the prior-year period by a robust 64.8%. The company has now topped analysts' earnings expectations for the past four quarters by an average margin of 18.7%. Net sales of $690.5 million in the quarter marked a new record and were up 13.4% when compared to the $609.0 million achieved in the prior-year period. The jump in sales was fueled by strong performances in the company's industrial packaging & services ($59.3 million) and paper, packaging & services segments ($20.4 million). In addition to posting solid results for the third quarter, the company also delighted investors by upping its fiscal 2006 earnings per share guidance by 40 cents to between $4.25 and $4.35. GEF also issued revised guidance for the year back in May as well as in March. The consensus estimate for this quarter currently sits at $1.32 and represents a 12.8% increase when compared to the consensus of 30 days earlier. Profit forecasts for fiscal 2006 and fiscal 2007 have risen 16.4% and 11.4%, respectively, over the same period of time. GEF distributed $10.4 million of cash dividends to its shareholders in the third quarter versus $6.9 million for the third quarter of 2005. On Aug 29, the Board of Directors declared quarterly cash dividends of 36 cents per share of Class A Common Stock and 54 cents per share of Class B Common Stock. Both dividends are payable on Oct 1 to shareholders of record as of Sep 20. The company has a current dividend yield of 1.9% and a five-year average dividend yield of 1.7%. The company's profitability, as measured by its return on equity, betters that of the industry average--16% compared to 12%. Note: The Zacks Rank is a very sensitive indicator that can change frequently for an individual stock. This important indicator is updated daily on Zacks.com and is available to Zacks Premium subscribers. As such, it is prudent to check the site for the latest Zacks Rank on the stocks highlighted in this section. Simply click the link for the stock or enter the symbol in the ticker entry box in the upper left hand corner of the web site. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home