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

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $117.33 and last traded at $111.30, with a volume of 478725 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $115.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on CHEF shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.43.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Down 3.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.00 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $92.81 and a 200-day moving average of $76.03.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 16.95% and a net margin of 2.09%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,951,892.82. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the first quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 98.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse during the 1st quarter valued at $546,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings 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 valued at $2,640,000 after purchasing an additional 9,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake 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 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.