Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Reaches New 52-Week High After Strong Earnings

Shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $69.16 and last traded at $69.2950, with a volume of 66655 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.15.

The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 1.74%.The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Key Chefs’ Warehouse News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chefs’ Warehouse this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — Chefs’ reported $0.68 EPS vs. $0.62 consensus and $1.14B revenue vs. $1.10B expected; revenue was up ~10.5% year-over-year, showing solid organic growth. Business Insider Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company set a 2026 net sales target of $4.35B–$4.45B, indicating management expects continued top-line momentum into the year. That guidance range underpins the upbeat investor view on growth capacity. MSN Guidance Article
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $74 price target, signaling analyst support and modest upside from current levels. Benzinga Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call materials and transcripts are available (slides and call transcript), providing detail on margin drivers, channel performance and M&A commentary for investors doing deeper due diligence. Yahoo Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Official press release and investor presentation published with quarter and full-year context — useful for modeling 2026 assumptions. GlobeNewswire Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage summaries (Zacks, Seeking Alpha) highlight beats and provide analyst commentary; useful but largely restate results. Zacks Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports note the stock briefly dipped after the release as investors parsed the 2026 outlook — suggesting the company’s valuation (P/E ~40) makes shares sensitive to cadence and detail in guidance. Investing.com on Dip

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHEF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Chefs’ Warehouse presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake 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 last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 515.3% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.09 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

About Chefs’ Warehouse

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.