The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $77.6667.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research cut Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th.

Chefs’ Warehouse Price Performance

CHEF opened at $58.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.18 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.39. Chefs’ Warehouse has a one year low of $45.00 and a one year high of $73.94.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.74% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. Chefs’ Warehouse’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 3,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 30,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,972,728.45. This represents a 9.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Tim Mccauley sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 44,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,340. The trade was a 14.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 139,309 shares of company stock valued at $9,060,197. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,930,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,656,000 after purchasing an additional 318,942 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,807,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,010,000 after buying an additional 58,154 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,129,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,864,000 after buying an additional 55,850 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,428,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,019,000 after buying an additional 44,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,383,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,263,000 after buying an additional 5,813 shares during the period. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.