Kennedy Capital Management LLC Buys 65,584 Shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 912,353 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,584 shares during the quarter. Chefs’ Warehouse accounts for 1.2% of Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.24% of Chefs’ Warehouse worth $53,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 362.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 429,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,382,000 after purchasing an additional 336,357 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,170,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 230.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,958,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,431,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 10,741.0% in the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 92,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,901,000 after buying an additional 91,621 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

Chefs’ Warehouse Price Performance

Shares of CHEF stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.25. 26,500 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 449,531. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.00 and a fifty-two week high of $73.94. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.16 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.47.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.74% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, 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 value of $5,997,127.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,398,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,979,580.66. The trade was a 3.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,972,728.45. The trade was a 9.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 139,309 shares of company stock valued at $9,060,197. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.