Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Strong Earnings

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $112.14 and last traded at $109.98, with a volume of 79620 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.18.

The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHEF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research lowered Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $83.00 to $97.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.86.

Insider Activity at Chefs’ Warehouse

In other Chefs’ Warehouse news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total transaction of $356,445.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 24,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,951,892.82. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,189,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,777,334. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the first quarter worth about $352,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after buying an additional 1,247 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 50.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 130,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,101,000 after buying an additional 43,593 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the 1st quarter worth approximately $98,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Up 7.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.84 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.08 and a 200 day moving average of $74.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

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.