Kennedy Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Kennedy Capital Management LLC cut its position in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 816,088 shares of the company’s stock after selling 96,265 shares during the quarter. Chefs’ Warehouse makes up about 1.1% of Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse were worth $50,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CHEF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 229.5% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 515.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHEF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped 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 report on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chefs’ Warehouse has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.83.

Insider Transactions at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total transaction of $9,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,189,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,777,334. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total transaction of $356,445.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 24,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,951,892.82. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Up 1.1%

CHEF stock opened at $90.75 on Friday. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.20 and a 52 week high of $92.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.42 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $73.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

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

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.