Analyzing Amcon Distributing (NASDAQ:DIT) and Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF)

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Chefs’ Warehouse and Amcon Distributing”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	0.63	$34.59 million	$1.14	47.83
Amcon Distributing	$2.78 billion	0.03	$4.34 million	$5.96	20.81

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

Volatility and Risk

Chefs’ Warehouse has a beta of 2.29, indicating that its stock price is 129% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amcon Distributing has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Chefs’ Warehouse and Amcon Distributing, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chefs’ Warehouse	0	0	5	0	3.00
Amcon Distributing	0	0	0	0	0.00

Chefs’ Warehouse currently has a consensus target price of $53.80, indicating a potential downside of 1.34%. Given Chefs’ Warehouse’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Chefs’ Warehouse is more favorable than Amcon Distributing.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.6% of Chefs’ Warehouse shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.1% of Amcon Distributing shares are held by institutional investors. 11.9% of Chefs’ Warehouse shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 73.0% of Amcon Distributing shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chefs’ Warehouse	1.28%	12.67%	3.41%
Amcon Distributing	0.13%	3.27%	0.95%

Summary

Chefs’ Warehouse beats Amcon Distributing on 12 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 Amcon Distributing

AMCON Distributing Co. engages in the distribution of consumer products. It operates through the Wholesale Distribution (Wholesale) and Retail Health Food (Retail) segments. The Wholesale segment refers to the wholesale distribution of consumer products. The Retail segment focuses on the sale of health and natural food products. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Omaha, NE.