The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF Shares Sold by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Kennedy Capital Management cut its Chefs' Warehouse stake by 10.6% in Q4, selling 96,265 shares but still holding 816,088 shares worth about $50.9 million. The stock remains one of the fund’s top positions.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish overall, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.83, though a few firms recently downgraded their views or trimmed targets.
• Chefs' Warehouse reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates with EPS of $0.40 and revenue of $1.06 billion, while revenue rose 11.4% year over year.

Kennedy Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 816,088 shares of the company's stock after selling 96,265 shares during the period. Chefs' Warehouse comprises approximately 1.1% of Kennedy Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 2.01% of Chefs' Warehouse worth $50,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 229.5% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 458 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 515.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 523 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Chefs' Warehouse during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Chefs' Warehouse during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on CHEF shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of Chefs' Warehouse stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,189,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of Chefs' Warehouse 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 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Chefs' Warehouse Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ CHEF opened at $90.75 on Friday. The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. has a one year low of $53.20 and a one year high of $92.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 50.42 and a beta of 1.44.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.17. Chefs' Warehouse had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

About Chefs' Warehouse

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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