Financial Survey: Greif (NYSE:GEF) and O-I Glass (NYSE:OI)

Greif (NYSE:GEF) and O-I Glass (NYSE:OI) are both materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Greif and O-I Glass”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Greif	$3.93 billion	0.96	$840.00 million	$3.19	25.64
O-I Glass	$6.43 billion	0.15	-$129.00 million	($7.52)	-0.81

Greif has higher earnings, but lower revenue than O-I Glass. O-I Glass is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Greif, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Greif has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, O-I Glass has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Greif and O-I Glass, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Greif	1	3	1	0	2.00
O-I Glass	2	4	3	0	2.11

Greif currently has a consensus price target of $83.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.49%. O-I Glass has a consensus price target of $9.69, indicating a potential upside of 59.47%. Given O-I Glass’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe O-I Glass is more favorable than Greif.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

45.7% of Greif shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.2% of O-I Glass shares are held by institutional investors. 7.7% of Greif shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of O-I Glass shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Greif and O-I Glass’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Greif	7.53%	8.09%	3.86%
O-I Glass	-18.13%	10.40%	1.43%

Summary

Greif beats O-I Glass on 8 of the 14 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 O-I Glass

O-I Glass, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of glass containers to food and beverage manufacturers primarily in the Americas, Europe, and internationally. The company produces glass containers for alcoholic beverages, including beer, flavored malt beverages, spirits, and wine. It is also involved in the production of glass packaging for various food items, soft drinks, tea, juices, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, the company offers glass containers in a range of sizes, shapes, and colors. It sells its products directly to customers under annual or multi-year supply agreements, as well as through distributors. O-I Glass, Inc. was founded in 1903 and is based in Perrysburg, Ohio.