Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday. The stock traded as high as $118.51 and last traded at $117.67, with a volume of 399170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CHEF shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $115.67.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Up 4.3%

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 company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 55.90 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.71.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.95% and a net margin of 2.09%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Chefs’ Warehouse’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.11, for a total transaction of $11,011,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,105,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,834,402.80. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,465,568. The trade was a 11.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 137,752 shares of company stock worth $15,203,174. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 229.5% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 98.7% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the 2nd quarter valued at about $120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

Chefs’ Warehouse Company Profile

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc is a specialty food distributor that supplies professional chefs, restaurants, hotels, culinary institutions, specialty retailers and other foodservice customers. The company focuses on products that are often difficult to source through broadline distributors, including specialty and center-of-the-plate items.

Its product offerings include fresh produce, seafood, meat and poultry, dairy, imported and domestic cheeses, charcuterie, specialty grocery products, dry goods, frozen foods, and culinary supplies.