Chefs’ Warehouse’s (CHEF) Buy Rating Reiterated at BTIG Research

BTIG Research restated their buy rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $74.00 target price on the stock.

CHEF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Benchmark lifted their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.67.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Up 0.9%

Chefs’ Warehouse stock opened at $68.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.48 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $63.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.02. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 1 year low of $45.00 and a 1 year high of $69.47.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 1.74%.Chefs’ Warehouse’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHEF. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 1st quarter valued at $352,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 50.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 130,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,101,000 after purchasing an additional 43,593 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse during the first quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc acquired a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,033,000. 91.55% of the stock is owned by 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.