Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Reduces Stake in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,770 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,990 shares during the quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.18% of Chefs’ Warehouse worth $4,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 515.3% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse during the 1st quarter worth $98,000. 91.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHEF has been the subject of a number of research reports. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 target price on Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.67.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock opened at $58.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.18 and a beta of 1.26. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.00 and a 1 year high of $73.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.39.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 29,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $2,100,990.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 72,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,129,050.74. The trade was a 29.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 95,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.53, for a total value of $5,997,127.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,398,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,979,580.66. This trade represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 139,309 shares of company stock valued at $9,060,197 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Chefs’ Warehouse 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.