Financial Contrast: Greif (NYSE:GEF-B) & Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT)

Greif (NYSE:GEF-B) and Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) are both consumer cyclical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Greif and Karat Packaging’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Greif	N/A	N/A	N/A
Karat Packaging	7.40%	21.83%	13.13%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

21.1% of Karat Packaging shares are owned by institutional investors. 71.5% of Karat Packaging shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Greif and Karat Packaging, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Greif	0	0	0	0	N/A
Karat Packaging	0	0	2	0	3.00

Karat Packaging has a consensus target price of $27.33, suggesting a potential upside of 25.67%. Given Karat Packaging’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Karat Packaging is more favorable than Greif.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Greif and Karat Packaging’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Greif	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Karat Packaging	$407.20 million	1.06	$23.65 million	$1.52	14.31

Karat Packaging has higher revenue and earnings than Greif.

Summary

Karat Packaging beats Greif on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Greif

Greif, Inc. engages in the production and sale of industrial packaging products and services worldwide. It operates through three segments: Global Industrial Packaging; Paper Packaging & Services; and Land Management. The Global Industrial Packaging segment produces and sells industrial packaging products, including steel, fiber, and plastic drums; rigid and flexible intermediate bulk containers; closure systems for industrial packaging products; transit protection products; water bottles, and remanufactured and reconditioned industrial containers; and various services, such as container life cycle management, filling, logistics, warehousing, and other packaging services to chemicals, paints and pigments, food and beverage, petroleum, industrial coatings, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, mineral product, and other industries. This segment also offers flexible intermediate bulk containers and related services. The Paper Packaging & Services segment produces and sells containerboards, corrugated sheets and containers, and other corrugated and specialty products to customers in the packaging, automotive, food, and building products markets; and produces and sells coated and uncoated recycled paperboard, and recycled fiber. This segment's corrugated container products are used to ship various products, such as home appliances, small machinery, grocery products, automotive components, books, and furniture, as well as various other applications. The Land Management segment engages in harvesting and regeneration of timber properties; and sale of timberland and special use properties. As of October 31, 2022, this segment owned approximately 175,000 acres of timber properties in the southeastern United States. The company was formerly known as Greif Bros. Corporation and changed its name to Greif, Inc. in 2001. Greif, Inc. was founded in 1877 and is headquartered in Delaware, Ohio.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes single-use disposable products in plastic, paper, biopolymer-based, and other compostable forms used in various restaurant and foodservice settings. It provides food and take-out containers, bags, tableware, cups, lids, cutlery, straws, specialty beverage ingredients, equipment, gloves, and other products under the Karat Earth brand. The company offers its products to national and regional distributors, restaurant chains, retail establishments, and online customers. It also provides new product development, design, printing, and logistics services. Karat Packaging Inc. was incorporated in 2108 and is based in Chino, California.