Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $97.04 and last traded at $96.5140, with a volume of 8980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHEF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.83.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Up 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.84 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.15.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,189,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $170,777,334. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the 1st quarter worth about $352,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 43,593 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the first quarter worth approximately $98,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the second quarter worth approximately $243,000. 91.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.