Crown (NYSE:CCK) versus Greif Bros. (NYSE:GEF.B) Critical Analysis

Greif Bros. (NYSE:GEF.B) and Crown (NYSE:CCK) are both materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Greif Bros. and Crown’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Greif Bros.	7.53%	13.66%	6.52%
Crown	5.91%	27.33%	6.52%

Volatility & Risk

Greif Bros. has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Crown has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Greif Bros. pays an annual dividend of $3.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Crown pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Greif Bros. pays out 104.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Crown pays out 20.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Crown has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Greif Bros. and Crown”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Greif Bros.	$5.45 billion	0.91	$268.80 million	$3.56	30.17
Crown	$12.37 billion	1.03	$738.00 million	$6.95	16.85

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

5.1% of Greif Bros. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.9% of Crown shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.2% of Greif Bros. shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Crown 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.

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Greif Bros.	0	0	0	0	0.00
Crown	0	6	11	0	2.65

Crown has a consensus target price of $128.20, suggesting a potential upside of 9.47%. Given Crown’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Crown is more favorable than Greif Bros..

Summary

Crown beats Greif Bros. on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Greif Bros.

Greif, Inc. produces and sells industrial packaging products and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services; Paper Packaging & Services; Flexible Products & Services; and Land Management. The Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services segment offers rigid industrial packaging products, including steel, fiber, and plastic drums; rigid intermediate bulk containers; closure systems for industrial packaging products; transit protection products; water bottles, and remanufactured and reconditioned industrial containers; and services, such as container life cycle management, filling, logistics, warehousing, and other packaging services. This segment sells its products to customers in the chemicals, paints and pigments, food and beverage, petroleum, industrial coatings, agricultural, pharmaceutical and minerals, and other industries. The Paper Packaging & Services segment provides containerboards, corrugated sheets, corrugated containers, and other corrugated and specialty products to customers in the packaging, automotive, food, and building products markets. 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 Flexible Products & Services segment offers flexible intermediate bulk containers comprising polypropylene-based woven fabric, as well as related services to the agricultural, food, and other industries. The Land Management segment engages in harvesting and regeneration of timber properties; and sale of timberland and special use land. As of October 31, 2020, this segment owned approximately 244,000 acres of timber property 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 based in Delaware, Ohio.

About Crown

Crown Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the packaging business in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas Beverage, European Beverage, Asia Pacific, and Transit Packaging segments. The company manufactures and sells recyclable aluminum beverage cans and ends, glass bottles, steel crowns, aluminum caps, non-beverage cans, and aerosol cans and closures. It also provides manual, semi-automatic, and automatic equipment and tools to apply and remove consumables, such as straps and films; protective solutions, including airbags, edge protectors, and honeycomb products; and steel and plastic consumables include steel strap, plastic strap, industrial film, and other related products. The company serves food industries, including pet food, personal care, household, and industrial products. Crown Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Yardley, Pennsylvania.