Aristotle Capital Boston LLC Sells 92,112 Shares of The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Key Points

• Aristotle Capital Boston LLC cut its stake in The Chefs' Warehouse by 52.2%, selling 92,112 shares and now holds 84,461 shares worth about $4.93 million (≈0.21% of the company).
• Company insiders sold a total of 139,309 shares (~$9.06 million) last quarter, including CEO Christopher Pappas (95,908 shares) and General Counsel Alexandros Aldous (29,500 shares), leaving insiders with 11.9% ownership.
• Chefs' Warehouse beat quarterly estimates with $0.68 EPS vs. $0.62 expected and revenue of $1.14 billion (+10.5% YoY); analysts’ consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $77.67.

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC cut its stake in shares of The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Free Report) by 52.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,461 shares of the company's stock after selling 92,112 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC owned about 0.21% of Chefs' Warehouse worth $4,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse in the third quarter valued at about $57,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse in the 1st quarter worth $98,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 255.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,930 shares of the company's stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 29,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 72,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,129,050.74. This represents a 29.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 95,908 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.53, for a total transaction of $5,997,127.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,398,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,979,580.66. This trade represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 139,309 shares of company stock valued at $9,060,197 over the last quarter. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 price objective on Chefs' Warehouse in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research cut Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.67.

Chefs' Warehouse Stock Performance

Shares of CHEF opened at $64.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.15 and a beta of 1.26. The company's fifty day moving average is $65.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.46. The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.00 and a 1 year high of $73.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.05.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. Chefs' Warehouse had a net margin of 1.74% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CHEF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.