Granite Investment Partners LLC Has $4.54 Million Position in The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Key Points

• Granite Investment Partners reduced its Chefs' Warehouse stake by 42.5% in the first quarter, selling 56,430 shares and leaving it with 76,427 shares valued at about $4.54 million.
• Chefs' Warehouse reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.40 versus the $0.23 consensus and revenue of $1.06 billion versus the expected $1.01 billion. Revenue rose 11.4% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $87.57, though several firms recently downgraded the stock. The shares were trading around $96.27, near their 52-week high of $99.47.

Granite Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Free Report) by 42.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,427 shares of the company's stock after selling 56,430 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Chefs' Warehouse worth $4,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CHEF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 229.5% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 458 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 515.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 523 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 30.7% in 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 during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Chefs' Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research lowered Chefs' Warehouse from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on Chefs' Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.57.

Chefs' Warehouse Trading Down 2.0%

CHEF opened at $96.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.20 and a fifty-two week high of $99.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 53.48 and a beta of 1.39. The company's 50-day moving average is $84.93 and its 200 day moving average is $71.26.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total transaction of $356,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,951,892.82. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $9,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,189,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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