Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Position in The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Chefs' Warehouse by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 2.81 million shares valued at about $175 million.
• Chefs' Warehouse reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $0.40 per share versus $0.23 expected and revenue of $1.06 billion, up 11.4% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $80.83, even as some insiders have recently sold shares.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,807,801 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 58,154 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.90% of Chefs' Warehouse worth $175,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 2.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,129,189 shares of the company's stock worth $135,864,000 after purchasing an additional 55,850 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 2.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,383,861 shares of the company's stock worth $80,721,000 after purchasing an additional 30,684 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 6.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,149,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,334,000 after acquiring an additional 70,318 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,104,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,864,000 after acquiring an additional 173,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 7.7% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 912,353 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,218,000 after acquiring an additional 65,584 shares in the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Chefs' Warehouse

In other Chefs' Warehouse news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 3,317 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $217,097.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,972,728.45. This represents a 9.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Tim Mccauley sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $525,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 44,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,126,340. This trade represents a 14.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 264,309 shares of company stock valued at $18,810,197 in the last three months. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark upped their target price on Chefs' Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Chefs' Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research raised Chefs' Warehouse from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Chefs' Warehouse from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.83.

Chefs' Warehouse Stock Performance

CHEF stock opened at $81.71 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $64.70 and a 200-day moving average of $63.35. The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.20 and a 12-month high of $82.81. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 45.39 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.17. Chefs' Warehouse had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 1.87%.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 prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. Chefs' Warehouse's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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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