Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) and Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Head to Head Contrast

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) and Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) are both mid-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Sprouts Farmers Market and Chefs’ Warehouse, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sprouts Farmers Market	1	6	7	0	2.43
Chefs’ Warehouse	0	1	5	1	3.00

Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus price target of $92.25, indicating a potential upside of 26.79%. Chefs’ Warehouse has a consensus price target of $115.67, indicating a potential upside of 4.72%. Given Sprouts Farmers Market’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Sprouts Farmers Market is more favorable than Chefs’ Warehouse.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Sprouts Farmers Market and Chefs’ Warehouse”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sprouts Farmers Market	$9.00 billion	0.75	$523.67 million	$5.22	13.94
Chefs’ Warehouse	$4.39 billion	1.03	$72.36 million	$2.10	52.60

Sprouts Farmers Market has higher revenue and earnings than Chefs’ Warehouse. Sprouts Farmers Market is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Chefs’ Warehouse, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.6% of Chefs’ Warehouse shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Sprouts Farmers Market shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of Chefs’ Warehouse shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Sprouts Farmers Market has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chefs’ Warehouse has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Sprouts Farmers Market and Chefs’ Warehouse’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sprouts Farmers Market	5.58%	34.84%	11.99%
Chefs’ Warehouse	2.09%	16.95%	5.19%

Summary

Sprouts Farmers Market beats Chefs’ Warehouse on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retailing of fresh, natural, and organic food products under the Sprouts brand in the United States. It offers perishable product categories, including fresh produce, meat and meat alternatives, seafood, deli, bakery, floral, and dairy and dairy alternatives; and non-perishable product categories, such as grocery, vitamins and supplements, bulk items, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health and body care. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. was founded in 1943 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

About Chefs’ Warehouse

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.