Head-To-Head Review: UFP Technologies (NASDAQ:UFPT) versus Greif Bros. (NYSE:GEF.B)

UFP Technologies (NASDAQ:UFPT) and Greif Bros. (NYSE:GEF.B) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.3% of UFP Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.1% of Greif Bros. shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.4% of UFP Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.2% of Greif Bros. shares are owned by company 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 UFP Technologies and Greif Bros.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UFP Technologies	11.59%	21.27%	12.24%
Greif Bros.	3.74%	10.21%	3.23%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for UFP Technologies and Greif Bros., as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
UFP Technologies	0	1	1	0	2.50
Greif Bros.	0	0	0	0	0.00

UFP Technologies currently has a consensus target price of $252.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.61%. Given UFP Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe UFP Technologies is more favorable than Greif Bros..

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares UFP Technologies and Greif Bros.”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
UFP Technologies	$547.56 million	3.46	$58.98 million	$8.17	30.06
Greif Bros.	$5.52 billion	0.60	$268.80 million	$3.62	19.35

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

Volatility and Risk

UFP Technologies has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Greif Bros. has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

UFP Technologies beats Greif Bros. on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About UFP Technologies

UFP Technologies, Inc. designs and manufactures solutions for medical devices, sterile packaging, and other highly engineered custom products. The company offers protective drapes for robotic surgery, single patient use surfaces, advanced wound care, infection prevention, disposables for surgical and endoscopic procedures, packaging for medical devices, orthopedic implants, biopharma drug manufacturing, and coils for catheters; and molded components for applications in acoustic insulation, interior trim, load floors, sunshades, SUV cargo cover handles, driveshaft damping, engine and manifold covers, quarter panels, and wheel liners. It also provides molded composites for commercial aviation and military gear for use in backpack components, knee and elbow pads, eyewear, and helmets; and reusable cases and custom for applications in military ballistics panels, virtual training systems, drones, communications equipment, and rugged portable computers. In addition, the company provides engineered products and components to customers in the automotive, aerospace and defense, and industrial markets for applications in military uniform and gear components, automotive interior trim, air filtration, and protective cases and inserts. It markets and sells its products through a direct sales force. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

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.