Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $97.04 and last traded at $96.5140, with a volume of 8980 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $95.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CHEF shares. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Benchmark upped their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued 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 target price of $83.83.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Up 1.8%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.04 and a 200-day moving average of $68.15. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.84 and a beta of 1.44.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. Chefs’ Warehouse’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the firm’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. This trade represents a 15.44% 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 hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $9,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CHEF. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 18,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position 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. CWM LLC raised its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 4.9% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.