Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Hits New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $112.14 and last traded at $109.98, with a volume of 79620 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.18.

The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHEF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $83.00 to $97.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chefs’ Warehouse news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total transaction of $356,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,951,892.82. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chefs’ Warehouse

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHEF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 229.5% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 515.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 98.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. 91.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 59.84 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $90.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.62.

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.