Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) and Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Head-To-Head Review

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) and Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) are both mid-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Risk and Volatility

Chefs’ Warehouse has a beta of 1.47, meaning that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Albertsons Companies has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Chefs’ Warehouse and Albertsons Companies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chefs’ Warehouse	$4.51 billion	1.00	$72.36 million	$2.33	44.54
Albertsons Companies	$83.17 billion	0.07	$217.40 million	($0.11)	-116.32

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

Profitability

This table compares Chefs’ Warehouse and Albertsons Companies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chefs’ Warehouse	2.27%	17.48%	5.48%
Albertsons Companies	-0.06%	52.17%	3.57%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

91.6% of Chefs’ Warehouse shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.3% of Albertsons Companies shares are held by institutional investors. 11.1% of Chefs’ Warehouse shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Albertsons Companies 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Chefs’ Warehouse and Albertsons Companies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chefs’ Warehouse	0	2	5	0	2.71
Albertsons Companies	4	10	2	0	1.88

Chefs’ Warehouse presently has a consensus target price of $120.17, suggesting a potential upside of 15.80%. Albertsons Companies has a consensus target price of $13.42, suggesting a potential upside of 4.86%. Given Chefs’ Warehouse’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Chefs’ Warehouse is more favorable than Albertsons Companies.

Summary

Chefs’ Warehouse beats Albertsons Companies on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of food and drug stores in the United States. The company’s food and drug retail stores offer grocery products, general merchandise, health and beauty care products, pharmacy, fuel, and other items and services. It also manufactures and processes food products for sale in stores. It operates stores under various banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw’s, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Market Street, Haggen, Kings Food Markets, and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market; and pharmacies, in-store branded coffee shops, adjacent fuel centers, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities, as well as various digital platforms. Albertsons Companies, Inc. was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho. Albertsons Companies, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Albertsons Investor Holdings LLC.