Welch & Forbes LLC Has $3.31 Million Stock Holdings in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Welch & Forbes LLC increased its position in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,105 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,800 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC owned 0.13% of Chefs’ Warehouse worth $3,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 229.5% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 515.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total value of $356,445.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,951,892.82. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 225,408 shares of company stock worth $16,103,572 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on CHEF shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Chefs’ Warehouse presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.83.

Chefs’ Warehouse Price Performance

CHEF stock opened at $76.54 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.52 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.18. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.20 and a 52-week high of $82.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.39.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 1.87%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal 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.