Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Chefs' Warehouse from hold to buy, adding to a generally bullish analyst backdrop. The stock now carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $83.83.
• Chefs' Warehouse recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $0.40 per share versus estimates of $0.23 on $1.06 billion in revenue, also ahead of forecasts. Revenue rose 11.4% year over year.
• The stock has surged near its yearly highs, opening at $95.40 with a 52-week range of $53.20 to $96.38. Institutional ownership remains high at 91.55%, though recent insider sales included shares sold by the CEO and another executive.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on CHEF. Zacks Research raised shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Chefs' Warehouse from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on Chefs' Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.83.

Chefs' Warehouse Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CHEF opened at $95.40 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $77.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.09. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $53.20 and a fifty-two week high of $96.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.00 and a beta of 1.44.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Chefs' Warehouse had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Chefs' Warehouse will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of Chefs' Warehouse stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total value of $356,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,951,892.82. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total transaction of $9,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse during the third quarter worth $7,142,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Chefs' Warehouse by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,807,801 shares of the company's stock worth $175,010,000 after buying an additional 58,154 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 2.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,383,861 shares of the company's stock worth $80,721,000 after acquiring an additional 30,684 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 207,069 shares of the company's stock worth $12,907,000 after acquiring an additional 33,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Chefs' Warehouse by 18.6% in the fourth 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. 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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