Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Chefs' Warehouse from “hold” to “strong-buy,” while the broader analyst view remains Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $80.83.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected Q1 results, earning $0.40 per share versus the $0.23 estimate and generating $1.06 billion in revenue, with sales up 11.4% year over year.
• Shares were trading around $80.50, near the 12-month high of $82.81, while CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares in a recent insider transaction and insiders have sold $18.8 million worth of stock over the past 90 days.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on 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 upgraded Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 target price on Chefs' Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chefs' Warehouse has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.83.

Chefs' Warehouse Price Performance

Chefs' Warehouse stock opened at $80.50 on Tuesday. Chefs' Warehouse has a 12 month low of $53.20 and a 12 month high of $82.81. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $65.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.95. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.72 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Tim Mccauley sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $525,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 44,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,126,340. The trade was a 14.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 264,309 shares of company stock valued at $18,810,197 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chefs' Warehouse

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Chefs' Warehouse during the first quarter worth about $454,000. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in Chefs' Warehouse in the first quarter valued at $232,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Chefs' Warehouse in the first quarter valued at $194,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Chefs' Warehouse by 70.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 120,786 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,181,000 after acquiring an additional 49,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Chefs' Warehouse by 1.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 977,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,110,000 after acquiring an additional 15,311 shares during the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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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