Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, perishable-food retailer The Fresh Market (TFM) has received a distressing two-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Fresh Market and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Fresh Market facts

Headquarters (founded)

  Greensboro, N.C. (1981)

Market Cap

$2.7 billion

Industry

Food retail

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$1.2 billion

Management

President/CEO Craig Carlock (since 2009)
CFO Lisa Klinger (since 2009)

Trailing-12-Month Return on Equity

46.3%

Cash/Debt

$11.1 million / $46.3 million

Competitors

Kroger (NYSE: KR)
Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT)
Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM)

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 34% of the 44 All-Star members who have rated Fresh Market believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward.

This past summer, one of those bears, beefangusbeef, tapped Fresh Market as a particularly stale way to play the space:

Bad valuation. Stores are not nearly as nice as Whole Foods, staffed with less knowledgeable individuals, generally smaller, and worse selection. All around if you're looking for organic/premium food stock look at Whole Foods. A much better buy.

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Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.