Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 84,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,127,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.21% of Chefs’ Warehouse as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CHEF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 229.5% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings 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. boosted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% in 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 boosted 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 during the period. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CHEF opened at $115.52 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $103.58 and its 200 day moving average is $82.93. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.20 and a fifty-two week high of $117.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 55.01 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 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 company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Chefs’ Warehouse’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 2,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $308,224.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,568. This represents a 11.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.97, for a total transaction of $3,883,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 34,442 shares in the company, valued at $3,822,028.74. This trade represents a 50.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 137,752 shares of company stock worth $15,203,174. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CHEF shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.33.

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.