Granahan Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Key Points

• Granahan Investment Management LLC significantly reduced its stake in The Chefs' Warehouse by 98.1%, selling 185,609 shares and retaining only 3,674 shares valued at approximately $200,000.
• Despite Granahan's sell-off, other institutional investors like CWM LLC and Townsquare Capital LLC increased their stakes in The Chefs' Warehouse, indicating mixed investor sentiment.
• Analysts are generally optimistic about The Chefs' Warehouse, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price of $69.67, even as the stock has recently experienced volatility.

Granahan Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Free Report) by 98.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,674 shares of the company's stock after selling 185,609 shares during the quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC's holdings in Chefs' Warehouse were worth $200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CHEF. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 50.6% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 542 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chefs' Warehouse Price Performance

Shares of CHEF traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.43. 184,366 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 485,671. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.33. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.27 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.72 and a 1 year high of $68.94.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Chefs' Warehouse had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Chefs' Warehouse has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CHEF shares. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $68.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $69.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chefs' Warehouse

In other news, CAO Tim Mccauley sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.07, for a total transaction of $1,138,725.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 52,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,386,893.50. This trade represents a 25.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company's stock.

Chefs' Warehouse Company Profile

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes specialty food and center-of-the-plate products in the United States, the Middle East, and Canada. The company's product portfolio includes specialty food products, such as artisan charcuterie, specialty cheeses, unique oils and vinegars, truffles, caviar, chocolate, and pastry products; and center-of-the-plate products consisting of custom cut beef, seafood, and hormone-free poultry, as well as broadline food products comprising cooking oils, butter, eggs, milk, and flour.