Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 16,157 Shares of The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its stake in Chefs' Warehouse by 6.7% in the first quarter, selling 16,157 shares and leaving it with 226,744 shares worth about $13.48 million.
• Chefs' Warehouse reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.40 versus estimates of $0.23 and revenue of $1.06 billion versus $1.01 billion expected. Revenue also rose 11.4% from a year earlier.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally constructive, with four Buy ratings and four Hold ratings and a consensus target price of $91.86. Recent moves included upgrades from Wall Street Zen and TD Cowen, while others, including Morgan Stanley and Zacks, turned more cautious.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 226,744 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,157 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.56% of Chefs' Warehouse worth $13,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHEF. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Chefs' Warehouse by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,536 shares of the company's stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 18,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,341 shares of the company's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.55% of the company's stock.

Chefs' Warehouse Stock Performance

CHEF opened at $94.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $89.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.49 and a beta of 1.39. The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.20 and a 12-month high of $102.87.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CHEF. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Zacks Research cut Chefs' Warehouse from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Chefs' Warehouse from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $83.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Chefs' Warehouse in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chefs' Warehouse

In other news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total transaction of $356,445.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,951,892.82. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total transaction of $9,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,189,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $170,777,334. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Chefs' Warehouse 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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