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

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on CHEF. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.67.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

CHEF opened at $113.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.81 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 1-year low of $56.46 and a 1-year high of $118.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $111.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.96.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 16.95% and a net margin of 2.09%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 2,752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $308,224.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,014 shares in the company, valued at $2,465,568. The trade was a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.11, for a total transaction of $11,011,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,105,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,834,402.80. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 137,752 shares of company stock worth $15,203,174 over the last ninety days. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 8.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 172,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,228,000 after purchasing an additional 13,318 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the second quarter valued at $37,619,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,164,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,220,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the second quarter worth approximately $1,423,000. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Chefs’ Warehouse

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc is a specialty food distributor that supplies professional chefs, restaurants, hotels, culinary institutions, specialty retailers and other foodservice customers. The company focuses on products that are often difficult to source through broadline distributors, including specialty and center-of-the-plate items.

Its product offerings include fresh produce, seafood, meat and poultry, dairy, imported and domestic cheeses, charcuterie, specialty grocery products, dry goods, frozen foods, and culinary supplies.