Comparing Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) and Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW)

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) and Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) are both industrial products companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

99.7% of Graphic Packaging shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.4% of Smurfit Westrock shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Graphic Packaging shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Smurfit Westrock shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Graphic Packaging and Smurfit Westrock”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Graphic Packaging	$9.09 billion	1.00	$723.00 million	$2.21	13.35
Smurfit Westrock	$20.31 billion	1.28	-$22.40 million	$1.19	42.09

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

Dividends

Graphic Packaging pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Smurfit Westrock pays an annual dividend of $1.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Graphic Packaging pays out 18.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Smurfit Westrock pays out 101.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Graphic Packaging and Smurfit Westrock, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Graphic Packaging	1	2	6	0	2.56
Smurfit Westrock	0	2	3	0	2.60

Graphic Packaging presently has a consensus target price of $31.15, suggesting a potential upside of 5.61%. Smurfit Westrock has a consensus target price of $57.80, suggesting a potential upside of 15.39%. Given Smurfit Westrock’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Smurfit Westrock is more favorable than Graphic Packaging.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Graphic Packaging	7.93%	30.74%	7.64%
Smurfit Westrock	1.36%	7.13%	2.67%

Volatility and Risk

Graphic Packaging has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Smurfit Westrock has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Graphic Packaging beats Smurfit Westrock on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Smurfit Westrock

Smurfit Westrock Plc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and sells containerboard, corrugated containers, and other paper-based packaging products in Ireland and internationally. The company produces containerboard that it converts into corrugated containers or sells to third parties, as well as produces other types of paper, such as consumer packaging board, sack paper, graphic paper, solid board and graphic board, and other paper-based packaging products, such as consumer packaging, solid board packaging, paper sacks, and other packaging products, including bag-in-box. It also produces linerboard and corrugated medium, paperboard, and non-packaging grades of paper, as well as converted products, such as folding cartons and corrugated boxes, and other products; recycled paper-based packaging products; and packaging machinery. The company primarily serves food and beverage, e-commerce, retail, consumer goods, industrial, and foodservice markets. Smurfit Westrock Plc was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.