Financial Analysis: Chefs’ Warehouse (CHEF) and The Competition

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF – Get Free Report) is one of 149 publicly-traded companies in the “Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Chefs’ Warehouse to similar companies based on the strength of its dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Chefs’ Warehouse has a beta of 1.47, suggesting that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chefs’ Warehouse’s peers have a beta of 0.44, suggesting that their average share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Chefs’ Warehouse and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Chefs’ Warehouse and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

Chefs’ Warehouse currently has a consensus target price of $120.17, indicating a potential upside of 19.04%. As a group, “Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail” companies have a potential upside of 60.24%. Given Chefs’ Warehouse’s peers higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Chefs’ Warehouse has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Chefs’ Warehouse and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Chefs’ Warehouse’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Chefs’ Warehouse. Chefs’ Warehouse is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.5% of Chefs’ Warehouse shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.0% of shares of all “Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail” companies are owned by institutional investors. 11.1% of Chefs’ Warehouse shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.7% of shares of all “Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Chefs’ Warehouse beats its peers on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

About Chefs’ Warehouse

(Get Free Report)

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, distributes specialty food and center-of-the-plate products in the United States, the Middle East, and Canada. The company’s product portfolio includes specialty food products, such as artisan charcuterie, specialty cheeses, unique oils and vinegars, truffles, caviar, chocolate, and pastry products; and center-of-the-plate products consisting of custom cut beef, seafood, and hormone-free poultry, as well as broadline food products comprising cooking oils, butter, eggs, milk, and flour. The company serves menu-driven independent restaurants, fine dining establishments, country clubs, hotels, caterers, culinary schools, bakeries, patisseries, chocolatiers, cruise lines, casinos, and specialty food stores. It markets its center-of-the-plate products directly to consumers through a mail and e-commerce platform. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Ridgefield, Connecticut.