VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Invests $1.22 Million in The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems purchased 12,700 shares of Chefs' Warehouse in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.22 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.55% of the company.
• Chefs' Warehouse exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.78 in EPS versus the $0.59 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.17 billion, up 12.9% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with the stock carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $115.67, although company insiders sold $15.2 million of shares over the past 90 days.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,220,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake 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 purchased a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 30.7% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chefs' Warehouse Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CHEF opened at $110.45 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $106.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.24. 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 current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.60 and a beta of 1.38.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Chefs' Warehouse had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 16.95%. Chefs' Warehouse's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CHEF. UBS Group upped their target price on Chefs' Warehouse from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Chefs' Warehouse from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.67.

Insider Transactions at Chefs' Warehouse

In other Chefs' Warehouse news, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.97, for a total transaction of $3,883,950.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 34,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,822,028.74. The trade was a 50.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.11, for a total value of $11,011,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,105,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $231,834,402.80. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 137,752 shares of company stock worth $15,203,174 over the last ninety days. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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