Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Hold Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.67.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

NASDAQ CHEF opened at $66.17 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $64.15 and a 200-day moving average of $62.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 40.10 and a beta of 1.34. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 52-week low of $51.53 and a 52-week high of $73.94.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.74% and a return on equity of 14.75%. Chefs’ Warehouse’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, CAO Tim Mccauley sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $525,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 44,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,340. This trade represents a 14.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 95,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,398,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,979,580.66. This represents a 3.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 139,309 shares of company stock valued at $9,060,197 in the last three months. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 931,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,344,000 after buying an additional 58,046 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at about $736,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 141,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,253,000 after buying an additional 20,785 shares during the period. Summit Creek Advisors LLC bought a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,431,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,142,000. 91.55% of the stock is owned by 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.