TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Invests $37.62 Million in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 391,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,619,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 8.4% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 172,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,228,000 after buying an additional 13,318 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,807,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,010,000 after purchasing an additional 58,154 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the first quarter worth $546,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 264,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,538,000 after purchasing an additional 34,011 shares during the period. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,630,000. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chefs’ Warehouse Price Performance

CHEF opened at $110.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.65 and a beta of 1.38. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.20 and a 12 month high of $117.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.28.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 16.95% and a net margin of 2.09%.The company’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CHEF shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.43.

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.