Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $99.68 and last traded at $98.76, with a volume of 233952 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Benchmark increased their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $97.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chefs’ Warehouse presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.86.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Down 0.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.73 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $86.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.19.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 15.54%. Chefs’ Warehouse’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,777,334. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chefs’ Warehouse

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 229.5% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 515.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 98.7% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.