Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $71.43 and last traded at $71.13, with a volume of 477097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price target 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 Thursday, February 12th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chefs’ Warehouse currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.67.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Up 1.6%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $64.25 and its 200-day moving average is $62.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 43.11 and a beta of 1.30.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 1.74%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHEF. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 4th quarter worth about $251,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,930,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,656,000 after purchasing an additional 318,942 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 1,027.8% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC now owns 51,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,185,000 after buying an additional 46,561 shares during the period. Odyssean LLC acquired a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $746,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 2,871.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 251,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,668,000 after buying an additional 242,917 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

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.