Reviewing CCL Industries (OTCMKTS:CCDBF) and Greif (NYSE:GEF-B)

Greif (NYSE:GEF-B) and CCL Industries (OTCMKTS:CCDBF) are both consumer cyclical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

37.2% of CCL Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Greif and CCL Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Greif	N/A	N/A	N/A
CCL Industries	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Greif pays an annual dividend of $3.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. CCL Industries pays an annual dividend of $1.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Greif pays out 67.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CCL Industries pays out 18.6% 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Greif and CCL Industries”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Greif	N/A	N/A	N/A	$4.83	13.12
CCL Industries	N/A	N/A	N/A	$5.45	8.98

CCL Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Greif, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Greif and CCL Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Greif	0	0	0	0	0.00
CCL Industries	0	0	1	0	3.00

CCL Industries has a consensus price target of $84.00, indicating a potential upside of 71.60%. Given CCL Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe CCL Industries is more favorable than Greif.

Summary

CCL Industries beats Greif on 6 of the 8 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 CCL Industries

CCL Industries Inc. manufactures and sells labels, consumer printable media products, technology-driven label solutions, polymer banknote substrates, and specialty films. It operates through CCL, Avery, Checkpoint, and Innovia segments. The CCL segment converts pressure sensitive and extruded film materials for a range of decorative, instructional, security, and functional applications for government institutions and global customers in consumer packaging, healthcare, chemicals, consumer durables, electronic device, and automotive markets. The Avery segment supplies labels, specialty converted media, and software solutions to enable short-run digital printing in businesses and homes alongside complementary products sold through distributors, mass-market stores, and e-commerce retailers. The Checkpoint segment engages in developing radio frequency and radio frequency identification-based technology systems for loss prevention and inventory management applications, including labeling and tagging solutions for the retail and apparel industries. The Innovia segment supplies biaxially oriented polypropylene films to customers in the pressure sensitive label materials, flexible packaging, and consumer packaged goods industries. The company operates in Canada, the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and New Zealand. CCL Industries Inc. was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.