Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Reaches New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Chefs' Warehouse hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday, trading as high as $99.68 before ending slightly lower at $98.76.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but still constructive: recent updates included several buy ratings and higher price targets, though the stock’s consensus rating is only Moderate Buy with a target price of $91.86.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $0.40 versus $0.23 expected and revenue of $1.06 billion, up 11.4% year over year.

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $99.68 and last traded at $98.76, with a volume of 233952 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $98.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHEF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen started coverage on Chefs' Warehouse in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Benchmark raised their price objective on Chefs' Warehouse from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research cut Chefs' Warehouse from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Chefs' Warehouse from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.86.

Chefs' Warehouse Stock Down 0.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 54.73 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $86.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.19.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for 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 revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chefs' Warehouse

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHEF. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 12.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 2,871.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 251,376 shares of the company's stock worth $15,668,000 after acquiring an additional 242,917 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 117,849.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 231,181 shares of the company's stock worth $13,744,000 after acquiring an additional 230,985 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,104,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,864,000 after acquiring an additional 173,155 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in Chefs' Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,142,000. Hedge funds and other 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.

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