Aberdeen Group plc Grows Position in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 207,069 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 33,810 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.51% of Chefs’ Warehouse worth $12,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 16,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH grew its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 15,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 target price on Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chefs’ Warehouse presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.67.

Chefs’ Warehouse Price Performance

Shares of CHEF opened at $59.24 on Wednesday. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.45 and a twelve month high of $73.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $64.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.90 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. The business 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 revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Chefs’ Warehouse

In other Chefs’ Warehouse news, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 29,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $2,100,990.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 72,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,129,050.74. This represents a 29.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Tim Mccauley sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $525,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 44,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,340. This trade represents a 14.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 139,309 shares of company stock worth $9,060,197. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.