Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CHEF. Weiss Ratings upgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upped their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $84.00 price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.67.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

CHEF opened at $66.17 on Monday. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 1-year low of $51.53 and a 1-year high of $73.94. The company has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.10 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $64.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.00. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 1.74%.The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 29,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $2,100,990.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 72,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,129,050.74. This trade represents a 29.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 3,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,972,728.45. This represents a 9.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 139,309 shares of company stock valued at $9,060,197 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHEF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 229.5% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 515.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chefs’ Warehouse Company Profile

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.