Jump Financial LLC Acquires New Position in The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC has acquired a new stake in The Chefs' Warehouse, purchasing 10,495 shares valued at approximately $572,000.
• Institutional investors now hold 91.55% of The Chefs' Warehouse stock, with significant increases in holdings from several hedge funds in the previous quarter.
• The Chefs' Warehouse reported a 52% increase in earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations with $1.03 billion in revenue for the quarter.

Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 10,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $572,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CHEF. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Chefs' Warehouse by 389.5% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,073,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649,811 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse during the first quarter worth about $42,866,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse during the first quarter worth about $26,263,000. Cercano Management LLC bought a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse during the fourth quarter worth about $18,481,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Chefs' Warehouse by 9.2% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,669,580 shares of the company's stock worth $145,385,000 after buying an additional 223,954 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.55% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Tim Mccauley sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.07, for a total value of $1,138,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 52,050 shares in the company, valued at $3,386,893.50. This represents a 25.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHEF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $68.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Chefs' Warehouse Price Performance

Shares of CHEF stock traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $65.16. 142,761 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 489,081. The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.72 and a fifty-two week high of $68.94. The stock's fifty day moving average is $63.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.38. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

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

Chefs' Warehouse 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.