Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) vs. George Weston (OTCMKTS:WNGRF) Financial Comparison

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

Volatility and Risk

George Weston has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chefs’ Warehouse has a beta of 1.39, indicating that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares George Weston and Chefs’ Warehouse”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
George Weston	$46.17 billion	0.58	$817.33 million	$2.08	34.21
Chefs’ Warehouse	$4.15 billion	0.94	$72.36 million	$1.80	53.12

George Weston has higher revenue and earnings than Chefs’ Warehouse. George Weston 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 George Weston and Chefs’ Warehouse’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
George Weston	1.74%	13.95%	3.40%
Chefs’ Warehouse	1.87%	15.54%	4.65%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of George Weston shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.5% of Chefs’ Warehouse shares are owned by institutional investors. 53.6% of George Weston shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of Chefs’ Warehouse shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for George Weston and Chefs’ Warehouse, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
George Weston	0	2	4	0	2.67
Chefs’ Warehouse	0	3	4	0	2.57

Chefs’ Warehouse has a consensus target price of $83.83, suggesting a potential downside of 12.33%. Given Chefs’ Warehouse’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Chefs’ Warehouse is more favorable than George Weston.

Summary

Chefs’ Warehouse beats George Weston on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About George Weston

George Weston Limited provides food and drug retailing, and financial services in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw) and Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (Choice Properties). The Loblaw segment provides grocery, pharmacy and healthcare services, health and beauty products, apparel, general merchandise, and financial services. This segment also offers credit card and other banking services, insurance brokerage services, guaranteed investment certificates, and wireless mobile products and services. The Choice Properties segment owns, operates, manages, and develops retail commercial and residential properties, leased to necessity-based tenants, industrial, and mixed-use and residential assets. It markets its products under the Shoppers Drug Mart, Joe Fresh, President’s Choice Bank, no name, Farmer’s Market, T&T, Life Brand, and PC Optimum brands. The company was founded in 1882 and is based in Toronto, Canada. George Weston Limited operates as a subsidiary of Wittington Investments, Limited.

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.