Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CHEF. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.83.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Up 0.6%

CHEF opened at $80.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 44.72 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 52 week low of $53.20 and a 52 week high of $82.81. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.95.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last released its 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 business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 3,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $217,097.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,972,728.45. This trade represents a 9.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value 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 $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 264,309 shares of company stock valued at $18,810,197 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chefs’ Warehouse

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 229.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 515.3% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 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.