Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $61.99 and traded as high as $65.02. Chefs’ Warehouse shares last traded at $63.95, with a volume of 226,502 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.88.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Down 0.7%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $60.78 and its 200 day moving average is $62.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 37.34 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.07. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 14.11%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. Chefs’ Warehouse’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chefs’ Warehouse news, CFO James Leddy sold 22,000 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total transaction of $1,366,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 125,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,819,152.12. The trade was a 14.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,749,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,387,000 after buying an additional 9,890 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,129,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,864,000 after acquiring an additional 55,850 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,383,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,721,000 after acquiring an additional 30,684 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,149,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,334,000 after acquiring an additional 70,318 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 931,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,344,000 after purchasing an additional 58,046 shares during the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.