Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE) and Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Head to Head Contrast

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

Volatility & Risk

Sealed Air has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Karat Packaging has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sealed Air and Karat Packaging”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sealed Air	$5.39 billion	0.87	$264.70 million	$2.02	15.75
Karat Packaging	$422.63 million	1.38	$29.98 million	$1.50	19.33

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

Dividends

Sealed Air pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Karat Packaging pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. Sealed Air pays out 39.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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. Karat Packaging has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Karat Packaging is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sealed Air	5.55%	65.49%	6.50%
Karat Packaging	7.02%	19.47%	10.33%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Sealed Air and Karat Packaging, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sealed Air	0	4	7	1	2.75
Karat Packaging	0	2	1	0	2.33

Sealed Air currently has a consensus price target of $38.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.48%. Karat Packaging has a consensus price target of $33.50, indicating a potential upside of 15.52%. Given Sealed Air’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Sealed Air is more favorable than Karat Packaging.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.4% of Sealed Air shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.2% of Karat Packaging shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Sealed Air shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 66.1% of Karat Packaging shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Sealed Air beats Karat Packaging on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sealed Air

Sealed Air Corporation provides packaging solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. It operates through two segments, Food and Protective. The Food segment offers integrated packaging materials and automation equipment solutions to provide food safety, shelf life extension, reduce food waste, automate processes, and optimize total cost for food processors in the fresh red meat, smoked and processed meats, poultry, seafood, plant-based, fluids and liquids and cheese markets under the CRYOVAC, CRYOVAC Grip & Tear, CRYOVAC Darfresh, LIQUIBOX, Simple Steps, and Optidure brands. This segment sells its solutions directly to customers through its sales, marketing, and customer service personnel. The Protective segment provides shrink films, bagging systems, foam, inflatable, and suspension and retention packaging solutions to protect goods to e-commerce, consumer goods, pharmaceutical and medical devices, and industrial manufacturing markets under the SEALED AIR, BUBBLE WRAP, AUTOBAG, Instapak, and Korrvu brands. This segment sells its solutions through supply distributors, as well as directly to fabricators, original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers, logistics partners, and e-commerce/fulfillment operations. The company was incorporated in 1960 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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.