Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research cut Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chefs’ Warehouse currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.57.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:CHEF opened at $98.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 54.56 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.02. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 1 year low of $53.20 and a 1 year high of $99.47.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.17. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chefs’ Warehouse

In other news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $9,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,189,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total value of $356,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 24,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,951,892.82. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHEF. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the first quarter worth approximately $352,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 50.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 130,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,101,000 after purchasing an additional 43,593 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse during the 1st quarter worth $98,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the 2nd quarter worth $243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

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.