The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Chefs’ Warehouse a “Moderate Buy” consensus: Five analysts rate the stock a buy, one a strong buy and two a hold. The average 12-month price target is $107.43, with several firms recently raising targets to $123–$125.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.78 in EPS versus $0.59 expected and $1.17 billion in revenue, up 12.9% year over year.
• Insiders sold 137,752 shares worth approximately $15.2 million over the past quarter, while institutional investors own a substantial 91.55% of outstanding shares.

Shares of The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $107.4286.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Chefs' Warehouse from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a 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 research report on Wednesday, August 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $308,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,014 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 2,105,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders have sold 137,752 shares of company stock worth $15,203,174. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Chefs' Warehouse

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse during the 2nd quarter valued at $847,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse in the 2nd quarter worth $360,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,164,000. Finally, Odyssean LLC bought a new position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,148,000. Institutional investors own 91.55% of the company's stock.

Chefs' Warehouse Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ CHEF opened at $108.30 on Wednesday. Chefs' Warehouse has a 52 week low of $53.20 and a 52 week high of $117.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.57 and a beta of 1.38.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Chefs' Warehouse had a return on equity of 16.95% and a net margin of 2.09%.The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Chefs' Warehouse will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chefs' Warehouse Company 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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