The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $77.6667.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 price target on Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday, February 12th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 target price 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 report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th.

Insider Transactions at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 95,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.53, for a total transaction of $5,997,127.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,398,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,979,580.66. This represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 3,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $217,097.65. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,972,728.45. This trade represents a 9.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 139,309 shares of company stock valued at $9,060,197 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 18,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 16,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

Chefs’ Warehouse Price Performance

Shares of CHEF stock opened at $62.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.84 and a beta of 1.26. Chefs’ Warehouse has a twelve month low of $45.00 and a twelve month high of $73.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.