Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) and Metro (OTCMKTS:MTTWF) Critical Review

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) and Metro (OTCMKTS:MTTWF) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.6% of Chefs’ Warehouse shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.9% of Chefs’ Warehouse shares are owned 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chefs’ Warehouse	1.01%	12.30%	3.22%
Metro	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Chefs’ Warehouse and Metro’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chefs’ Warehouse	$3.43 billion	0.41	$34.59 million	$0.86	41.01
Metro	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Chefs’ Warehouse has higher revenue and earnings than Metro.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Chefs’ Warehouse and Metro, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chefs’ Warehouse	0	0	3	0	3.00
Metro	0	0	0	0	N/A

Chefs’ Warehouse currently has a consensus price target of $47.67, suggesting a potential upside of 35.15%. Given Chefs’ Warehouse’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Chefs’ Warehouse is more favorable than Metro.

Summary

Chefs’ Warehouse beats Metro on 8 of the 8 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 Metro

Metro AG operates as a food wholesale company in Germany and internationally. It operates bricks-and-mortar wholesale stores and delivery depots under the METRO, MAKRO, Classic Fine Foods, Pro à Pro, Aviludo, Pro a Pro Spain, Johan i Hallen & Bergfalk, and Rungis Express brand names serving hotels, restaurants, bars, cafés, catering companies, canteen operators, small grocery stores, and kiosks in Europe, Russia, and Asia, as well as online marketplace METRO MARKETS. The company also develops digital solutions; and offers food delivery services. In addition, it provides services in the areas of real estate, logistics, information technology, procurement, and advertising. The company was formerly known as METRO Wholesale & Food Specialist AG and changed its name to METRO AG in August 2017. Metro AG was founded in 1964 and is based in Düsseldorf, Germany.