The Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) and National Beverage (NASDAQ:FIZZ) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares The Chefs' Warehouse and National Beverage's gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| The Chefs' Warehouse | $1.59 billion | 0.81 | $24.19 million | $1.01 | 33.56 |
| National Beverage | $1.00 billion | 4.84 | $129.97 million | $2.78 | 18.66 |
National Beverage has lower revenue, but higher earnings than The Chefs' Warehouse. National Beverage is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Chefs' Warehouse, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for The Chefs' Warehouse and National Beverage, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| The Chefs' Warehouse | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2.57 |
| National Beverage | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.25 |
The Chefs' Warehouse presently has a consensus target price of $25.4286, indicating a potential downside of 24.99%. National Beverage has a consensus target price of $35.8333, indicating a potential downside of 30.93%. Given The Chefs' Warehouse's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe The Chefs' Warehouse is more favorable than National Beverage.
Profitability
This table compares The Chefs' Warehouse and National Beverage's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| The Chefs' Warehouse | -2.78% | -10.71% | -3.63% |
| National Beverage | 15.34% | 33.20% | 23.86% |
Risk and Volatility
The Chefs' Warehouse has a beta of 2.46, meaning that its stock price is 146% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Beverage has a beta of 1.39, meaning that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
78.8% of The Chefs' Warehouse shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.7% of National Beverage shares are held by institutional investors. 17.1% of The Chefs' Warehouse shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 75.2% of National Beverage shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
National Beverage beats The Chefs' Warehouse on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
