Benchmark Issues Positive Forecast for Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Stock Price

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) had its target price lifted by Benchmark from $79.00 to $84.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Benchmark’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 33.48% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Six 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.com, Chefs’ Warehouse currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.71.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ CHEF traded down $0.65 during trading on Thursday, hitting $62.93. 52,685 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 438,714. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 36.97 and a beta of 1.28. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 12-month low of $45.00 and a 12-month high of $68.94.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.07. The firm 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 period last year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, CFO James Leddy sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 125,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,819,152.12. This trade represents a 14.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CHEF. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the 3rd quarter worth $736,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 931,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,344,000 after buying an additional 58,046 shares during the last quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse in the third quarter valued at $7,431,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,805,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 362.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 429,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,382,000 after acquiring an additional 336,357 shares in the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.