The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its Chefs’ Warehouse stake by 52.6% in the second quarter, selling 15,913 shares and retaining 14,327 shares worth approximately $1.39 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 91.55% of the company.
• Company insiders sold 137,752 shares worth about $15.2 million over the past three months, including a $11.0 million sale by CEO Christopher Pappas.
• Analysts remain bullish: several firms raised their price targets to $125, while Chefs’ Warehouse reported quarterly EPS of $0.78 versus the $0.59 consensus and revenue growth of 12.9% year over year.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Free Report) by 52.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,327 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,913 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Chefs' Warehouse were worth $1,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 172,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,228,000 after purchasing an additional 13,318 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,619,000. Argent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $546,000. Summit Creek Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,781,000. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Chefs' Warehouse in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,745,000. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 2,752 shares of Chefs' Warehouse stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $308,224.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,568. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.11, for a total value of $11,011,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,105,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $231,834,402.80. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 137,752 shares of company stock worth $15,203,174. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CHEF shares. BTIG Research raised their target price on Chefs' Warehouse from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark upped their price target on Chefs' Warehouse from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Chefs' Warehouse from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research raised Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $115.67.

Chefs' Warehouse Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of CHEF opened at $110.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of 52.60 and a beta of 1.38. The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.20 and a 1 year high of $117.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $106.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.24.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.12 billion. Chefs' Warehouse had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 16.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Chefs' Warehouse

Chefs' Warehouse, Inc is a specialty food distributor serving professional chefs, restaurants, hotels, culinary institutions and other foodservice customers. The company provides a broad selection of specialty and center-of-the-plate products, including fresh produce, seafood, meat, poultry, dairy, imported foods, dry goods, frozen items and other culinary ingredients.

In addition to food products, Chefs' Warehouse offers related supplies and services designed to support commercial kitchens and foodservice operations.

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