The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.8333.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CHEF shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:CHEF opened at $77.54 on Friday. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 12 month low of $53.20 and a 12 month high of $82.81. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.08 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $70.53 and its 200-day moving average is $65.87.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.17. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Chefs’ Warehouse’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $9,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,777,334. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total transaction of $356,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 24,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,951,892.82. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CHEF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 229.5% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 515.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

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.