B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Acquires New Shares in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new position in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 44,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,286,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 1st quarter worth approximately $352,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in 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 valued at $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 grew its position 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 valued at $7,101,000 after acquiring an additional 43,593 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the first quarter worth approximately $98,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the second quarter worth approximately $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:CHEF opened at $110.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.67 and a beta of 1.39. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.20 and a fifty-two week high of $117.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.44.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 16.95%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 2,752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $308,224.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,465,568. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 100,000 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.11, for a total value of $11,011,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,105,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,834,402.80. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 137,752 shares of company stock worth $15,203,174 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHEF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Chefs’ Warehouse currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.43.

Chefs’ Warehouse 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.