Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Chefs' Warehouse from “buy” to “hold,” though the broader analyst view remains constructive with an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $83.83.
• The stock has been strong recently, opening at $95.64 and trading near its 52-week high of $97.63, well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Chefs' Warehouse reported solid quarterly results with EPS of $0.40 versus $0.23 expected and revenue of $1.06 billion, up 11.4% year over year.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on CHEF. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.83.

Chefs' Warehouse Trading Down 0.3%

CHEF stock opened at $95.64 on Monday. Chefs' Warehouse has a twelve month low of $53.20 and a twelve month high of $97.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.13 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $80.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.38.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.17. Chefs' Warehouse had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 1.87%.The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. Chefs' Warehouse's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Chefs' Warehouse will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Chefs' Warehouse

In related news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total value of $356,445.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,951,892.82. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chefs' Warehouse

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CHEF. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse during the first quarter valued at approximately $352,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 6.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,152 shares of the company's stock worth $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 50.2% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 43,593 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse during the first quarter worth $98,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse during the 2nd quarter valued at $243,000. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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