Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 14,027 Shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 17.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 66,953 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,027 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse were worth $3,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,142,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,807,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,010,000 after buying an additional 58,154 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 264,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,538,000 after buying an additional 34,011 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,104,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,864,000 after buying an additional 173,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc increased 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. 91.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Chefs’ Warehouse

Here are the key news stories impacting Chefs’ Warehouse this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q2 results: Chefs’ Warehouse reported earnings of $0.78 per share, exceeding the $0.59 analyst consensus, while revenue of $1.17 billion topped expectations of $1.12 billion. Revenue increased 12.9% year over year, supported by higher volumes, customer growth and margin expansion. CHEF Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Volume and Margin Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Raised price targets from bullish analysts: Benchmark lifted its target from $106 to $125 and maintained a “buy” rating. BTIG Research also raised its target from $100 to $125 and rated the shares “buy,” indicating continued confidence in the company’s earnings momentum. Chefs’ Warehouse Price Target Raised to $125.00 at Benchmark
• Positive Sentiment: Improved outlook: The fiscal 2026 revenue outlook and quarterly earnings beat helped drive the stock to a new 52-week high, signaling that investors view the company’s growth and operating improvements as durable. The Chefs’ Warehouse Shares Rise After FY26 Revenue Outlook, 2Q Earnings Beat Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst view: Morgan Stanley raised its price target from $97 to $104 but retained an “equal weight” rating. Its target remains below the recent trading level, suggesting the firm sees limited upside after the post-earnings rally. Morgan Stanley Price Target Update

Insider Activity

In other Chefs’ Warehouse news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse 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. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total value of $356,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,951,892.82. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CHEF. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research upped their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.43.

Chefs’ Warehouse Price Performance

CHEF stock opened at $115.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.93 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $92.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.15. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.20 and a 52-week high of $115.72.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 16.95%. Chefs’ Warehouse’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Chefs’ Warehouse Company 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.