Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $58.61, but opened at $63.42. Chefs’ Warehouse shares last traded at $61.5490, with a volume of 90,713 shares.

The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.36 million. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 1.76%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. Chefs’ Warehouse has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CHEF. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chefs’ Warehouse has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 192,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,498,000 after purchasing an additional 9,142 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 103.1% during the 1st quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 19,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 9,684 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 196.0% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 30,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 20,404 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the 1st quarter worth about $289,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.97 and a beta of 1.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.01.

About Chefs’ Warehouse

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes specialty food and center-of-the-plate products in the United States, the Middle East, and Canada. The company’s product portfolio includes specialty food products, such as artisan charcuterie, specialty cheeses, unique oils and vinegars, truffles, caviar, chocolate, and pastry products; and center-of-the-plate products consisting of custom cut beef, seafood, and hormone-free poultry, as well as broadline food products comprising cooking oils, butter, eggs, milk, and flour.