Wasatch Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 20.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 273,246 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,243 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse were worth $16,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CHEF. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,930,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,656,000 after buying an additional 318,942 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,807,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,010,000 after acquiring an additional 58,154 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,129,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,864,000 after acquiring an additional 55,850 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,428,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,019,000 after acquiring an additional 44,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,383,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,813 shares in the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CHEF shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Benchmark boosted their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chefs’ Warehouse currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.83.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock opened at $95.64 on Friday. 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 $97.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.13 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.31.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.