Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

CHEF has been the subject of several other research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chefs’ Warehouse presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Chefs’ Warehouse Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CHEF opened at $64.14 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.73 and a beta of 1.28. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 52 week low of $45.00 and a 52 week high of $68.94.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.36 million. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 14.11%. Chefs’ Warehouse’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, CFO James Leddy sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $1,366,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 125,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,819,152.12. The trade was a 14.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHEF. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 207,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,907,000 after acquiring an additional 33,810 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the third quarter worth $7,142,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the third quarter worth $227,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the third quarter worth $2,349,000. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.