Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on CHEF. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $84.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Chefs’ Warehouse currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.67.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of CHEF stock opened at $64.49 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09 and a beta of 1.34. Chefs’ Warehouse has a one year low of $51.53 and a one year high of $73.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $64.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.02. 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 (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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 company’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chefs’ Warehouse

In other Chefs’ Warehouse news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 3,317 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $217,097.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,972,728.45. This trade represents a 9.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 95,908 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.53, for a total transaction of $5,997,127.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,398,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,979,580.66. This represents a 3.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 139,309 shares of company stock valued at $9,060,197. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHEF. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the 1st quarter worth about $352,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 50.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 130,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,101,000 after purchasing an additional 43,593 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the 1st quarter worth about $98,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the 2nd quarter worth about $243,000. 91.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.