Penn Capital Management Company LLC Grows Position in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Penn Capital Management Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 264,614 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,011 shares during the quarter. Chefs’ Warehouse comprises about 1.3% of Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse were worth $16,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 17.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 141,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,253,000 after buying an additional 20,785 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the third quarter worth $7,142,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,383,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,721,000 after buying an additional 30,684 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the third quarter worth $1,883,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 207,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,907,000 after buying an additional 33,810 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of CHEF opened at $76.88 on Wednesday. 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 Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.20 and a 12-month high of $82.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $68.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.71 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.83.

Insider Activity at Chefs’ Warehouse

In other Chefs’ Warehouse news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 24,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,951,892.82. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total transaction of $9,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 261,309 shares of company stock valued at $18,641,642. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.