Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) versus Greif (NYSE:GEF) Head to Head Survey

Greif (NYSE:GEF) and Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Greif	3.52%	10.09%	3.25%
Graphic Packaging	6.18%	21.13%	5.74%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

45.7% of Greif shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.7% of Graphic Packaging shares are held by institutional investors. 7.6% of Greif shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Graphic Packaging shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Greif and Graphic Packaging”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Greif	$5.45 billion	0.50	$268.80 million	$3.15	18.38
Graphic Packaging	$8.81 billion	0.59	$658.00 million	$1.77	9.89

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Greif and Graphic Packaging, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Greif	1	4	2	0	2.14
Graphic Packaging	0	8	2	0	2.20

Greif currently has a consensus price target of $75.80, suggesting a potential upside of 30.89%. Graphic Packaging has a consensus price target of $23.38, suggesting a potential upside of 33.50%. Given Graphic Packaging’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Graphic Packaging is more favorable than Greif.

Dividends

Greif pays an annual dividend of $2.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Graphic Packaging pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Greif pays out 71.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Graphic Packaging pays out 24.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Greif has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Graphic Packaging has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Greif is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk & Volatility

Greif has a beta of 1, indicating that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Graphic Packaging has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Graphic Packaging beats Greif on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Graphic Packaging

Graphic Packaging Holding Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, produces, and sells consumer packaging products to brands in food, beverage, foodservice, household, and other consumer products. It operates through three segments: Paperboard Manufacturing, Americas Paperboard Packaging, and Europe Paperboard Packaging. The company offers unbleached, bleached, and recycled paperboard to various paperboard packaging converters and brokers. It also provides paperboard packaging products for consumer packaged goods companies; and cups, lids, and food containers for foodservice companies and quick-service restaurants serving the food, beverage, and consumer product markets, including healthcare and beauty. The company also designs, manufactures, and installs specialized packaging machines. The company sells its products through sales offices, as well as through broker arrangements with third parties in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. Graphic Packaging Holding Company was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.