Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) CEO Sells $9,750,000.00 in Stock

Key Points

• CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares at an average price of $78 on May 5 for a total of $9,750,000, trimming his stake by 5.4% to 2,189,453 shares (SEC filing).
• Chefs' Warehouse topped quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.40 vs. $0.23 expected and revenue of $1.06 billion, up 11.4% year-over-year.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $80.83 and recent positive price-target revisions, while institutional investors own roughly 91.6% of the stock.

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 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. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Christopher Pappas also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 3rd, Christopher Pappas sold 95,908 shares of Chefs' Warehouse stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.53, for a total value of $5,997,127.24.

Chefs' Warehouse Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHEF traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.03. 733,956 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 505,684. The stock has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.91 and a beta of 1.47. 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 twelve month low of $53.20 and a twelve month high of $79.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.03.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. Chefs' Warehouse had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 1.87%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chefs' Warehouse

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 valued at $182,656,000 after purchasing an additional 318,942 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 2.1% in the 4th 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. increased its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 2.7% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 3.2% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 0.4% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Chefs' Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Chefs' Warehouse from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Chefs' Warehouse from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Chefs' Warehouse has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.83.

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.

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