The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.6667.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CHEF shares. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research cut Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Down 3.3%

Chefs’ Warehouse stock opened at $58.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Chefs’ Warehouse has a fifty-two week low of $45.00 and a fifty-two week high of $73.94.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.74% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chefs’ Warehouse news, CAO Tim Mccauley sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $525,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 44,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,340. This trade represents a 14.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 29,500 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $2,100,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 72,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,129,050.74. The trade was a 29.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 139,309 shares of company stock valued at $9,060,197 over the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 931,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,344,000 after purchasing an additional 58,046 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at about $736,000. Summit Creek Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,431,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 17.2% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 141,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,253,000 after purchasing an additional 20,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 69.1% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 69,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,410,000 after purchasing an additional 28,253 shares in the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chefs’ Warehouse Company Profile

Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc is a specialty food distributor that supplies a broad range of high‐end ingredients and culinary products to professional chefs, restaurants, hotels, and other foodservice operators. Headquartered in Maspeth, New York, the company sources its portfolio from local artisans, boutique producers and leading global suppliers. Its core offerings include fresh and frozen proteins, specialty cuts of meat and seafood, handcrafted cheeses and charcuterie, seasonal produce, value‐added preparations, pantry staples and premium desserts and beverages.

The company operates a network of distribution centers strategically located in major metropolitan markets across North America.