The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 88.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,229 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,091 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse were worth $138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 8.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 172,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,228,000 after buying an additional 13,318 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the second quarter worth $1,220,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the second quarter worth $37,619,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,164,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 2nd quarter valued at $993,000. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 2,752 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $308,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,465,568. This represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.11, for a total value of $11,011,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,105,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,834,402.80. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 137,752 shares of company stock valued at $15,203,174. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHEF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Zacks Research cut Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Benchmark increased their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Chefs’ Warehouse presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.17.

Chefs’ Warehouse Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHEF opened at $104.23 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.21. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.46 and a 52 week high of $118.51. The firm has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 44.73 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $110.74 and its 200-day moving average is $86.80.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 2.27%. Chefs’ Warehouse’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Chefs’ Warehouse Profile

Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc is a specialty food distributor serving professional chefs, restaurants, hotels, caterers, culinary institutions and other foodservice customers. The company supplies a broad range of products, including fresh produce, seafood, meat, poultry, dairy, specialty and imported foods, center-of-the-plate items, dry goods, and other ingredients used in commercial kitchens.

Founded in 1985, Chefs’ Warehouse has expanded from a regional distributor into a North American foodservice platform.