Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $117.65 and last traded at $116.17, with a volume of 687325 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $112.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CHEF shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.33.

Chefs’ Warehouse Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.52 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $103.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.25.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 16.95% and a net margin of 2.09%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.97, for a total value of $3,883,950.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 34,442 shares in the company, valued at $3,822,028.74. The trade was a 50.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $308,224.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,568. This represents a 11.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 137,752 shares of company stock worth $15,203,174. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chefs’ Warehouse

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 1.7% in 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. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

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.