Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

CHEF has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Benchmark upped their price target 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.83.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Down 0.3%

Chefs’ Warehouse stock opened at $95.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 53.13 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.38. Chefs’ Warehouse has a one year low of $53.20 and a one year high of $97.63.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.17. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 1.87%.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 earned $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Chefs’ Warehouse

In other news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $9,750,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,189,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total value of $356,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,951,892.82. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CHEF. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the 1st quarter worth approximately $275,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 98.7% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 1st quarter valued at $546,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 27.2% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,640,000 after buying an additional 9,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 332,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,759,000 after acquiring an additional 64,090 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.