Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Chefs' Warehouse from hold to buy, adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop. Overall, the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a price target of $91.86.
• Shares fell 5.2% even after the upgrade, and the stock opened at $97.08 versus a 52-week range of $53.20 to $102.87. The company has a market cap of about $3.96 billion.
• Chefs' Warehouse recently posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.40 beating estimates and revenue of $1.06 billion, up 11.4% year over year. However, executives also made notable share sales, including CEO Christopher Pappas selling 125,000 shares.

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded Chefs' Warehouse from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $97.00 in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their target price on Chefs' Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research boosted their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.86.

Chefs' Warehouse Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of NASDAQ CHEF opened at $97.08 on Friday. Chefs' Warehouse has a 52-week low of $53.20 and a 52-week high of $102.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.88 and a 200-day moving average of $72.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 53.93 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Chefs' Warehouse will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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 directly owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,777,334. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,951,892.82. The trade was a 15.44% 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chefs' Warehouse

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHEF. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse in the third quarter valued at $7,142,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,807,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $175,010,000 after purchasing an additional 58,154 shares in the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its stake in Chefs' Warehouse by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 264,614 shares of the company's stock worth $16,538,000 after buying an additional 34,011 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Chefs' Warehouse by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 207,069 shares of the company's stock worth $12,907,000 after buying an additional 33,810 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,104,826 shares of the company's stock worth $68,864,000 after buying an additional 173,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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