Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Sets New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $79.63 and last traded at $79.03, with a volume of 733956 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $77.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CHEF shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.83.

Chefs' Warehouse Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $64.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.03. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.91 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Chefs' Warehouse

In related news, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 29,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $2,100,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 72,017 shares in the company, valued at $5,129,050.74. This represents a 29.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 3,317 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $217,097.65. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,972,728.45. This represents a 9.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 264,309 shares of company stock worth $18,810,197 in the last quarter. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chefs' Warehouse

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHEF. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse during the 1st quarter worth $352,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Chefs' Warehouse by 6.3% during the 1st 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 period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Chefs' Warehouse by 50.2% during the 1st 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 during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse during the 1st quarter worth $98,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse during the 2nd quarter worth $243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.55% of the company's stock.

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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