Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFM), Whirlpool Corporation (WHR): Buying Green Is All About Saving Money, Not the Earth

Small and nimble and growing

Specialty retailer The Fresh Market Inc (NASDAQ:TFM) was originally concentrated in the South. However, it is making a concerted move into  California and New York signing two leases each with three more stores opening soon in California, just part of the 19-22 total openings this year. It is also expanding into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast for a current total of 132 stores in 25 states with an estimated 500 total in time.

The company presented at the William Blair Growth Stock Conference in June a picture of five year 5% CAGR in sales and a rise in full year EPS from $0.86 in 2010 to $1.33 in 2012. The company guided for $1.55-$1.58 EPS for FY2013.

Q1 results reported on May 29 showed sales growth of 12.9% and an improvement of 60 basis points on gross margin at 35.33%. The company beat analysts’ expectation on EPS but not on revenue.

Its competitive advantage to conventional supermarkets is its limited product overlap with them because of its differentiated private label brands and local offerings. (Survey says locally grown was another intended buy of respondents.)

One advantage over Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) is its small-box format with average square footage between 17,000-22,000. A new store can be built for $3 million and turn around $8-10 million in sales the first year.

The Fresh Market Inc (NASDAQ:TFM) trades at a forward P/E of 26.49 with a 1.55 PEG. The stock is down 4.49% in the last year mostly due to several quarters of in line or slightly disappointing quarters before this last Q1 report. It has a high short interest of 15.40% and trades at 10.80 times book.

It isn’t easy being green

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) is a solid stock in the “green” and should do well as long as interest rates don’t rise sharply. Between Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) and The Fresh Market Inc (NASDAQ:TFM), The Fresh Market’s small but nimble growth is becoming more attractive but one should consider it slightly speculative.

The article Buying Green Is All About Saving Money, Not the Earth originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by AnnaLisa Kraft.

AnnaLisa Kraft has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Whole Foods Market. The Motley Fool owns shares of Whole Foods Market. AnnaLisa is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.