Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $82.87 and last traded at $82.9660, with a volume of 167298 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $80.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on CHEF shares. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chefs’ Warehouse has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.83.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Up 5.3%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $72.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 49.87 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.18.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.17. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Chefs’ Warehouse

In other Chefs’ Warehouse news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total transaction of $356,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,951,892.82. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total transaction of $9,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,189,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,777,334. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CHEF. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 98.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the 1st quarter worth $546,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,640,000 after buying an additional 9,490 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 332,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,759,000 after buying an additional 64,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the 1st quarter worth $275,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

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.