Comparing Greif (NYSE:GEF) & Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT)

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

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Karat Packaging and Greif”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Karat Packaging	$430.64 million	1.33	$29.98 million	$1.50	19.09
Greif	$5.52 billion	0.57	$268.80 million	$3.55	18.76

Greif has higher revenue and earnings than Karat Packaging. Greif is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Karat Packaging, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Karat Packaging has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Greif has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Karat Packaging and Greif, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Karat Packaging	0	2	1	0	2.33
Greif	0	4	3	0	2.43

Karat Packaging presently has a consensus target price of $33.50, suggesting a potential upside of 17.01%. Greif has a consensus target price of $74.83, suggesting a potential upside of 12.39%. Given Karat Packaging’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Karat Packaging is more favorable than Greif.

Dividends

Karat Packaging pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.3%. Greif pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Karat Packaging pays out 120.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Greif pays out 60.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Karat Packaging has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Greif has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

25.2% of Karat Packaging shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.7% of Greif shares are held by institutional investors. 66.2% of Karat Packaging shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of Greif shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Karat Packaging	7.02%	19.47%	10.33%
Greif	3.74%	10.21%	3.23%

Summary

Karat Packaging beats Greif on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of 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 also provides new product development, design, printing, and logistics services. It offers its products to national and regional distributors, restaurant chains, retail establishments, and online customers. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Chino, California.

About Greif

Greif, Inc. engages in the production and sale of industrial packaging products and services worldwide. The company operates through Global Industrial Packaging; Paper Packaging & Services; and Land Management segments. 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. 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, 2023, 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.