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

Key Points

• Analysts assign Chefs' Warehouse a consensus "Moderate Buy" from seven brokerages (five buy, two hold) with an average 12‑month price target of about $77.67 and several firms recently raising targets into the low $80s.
• The company beat estimates last quarter with $0.68 EPS vs. $0.62 expected and $1.14B revenue vs. $1.10B, a 10.5% year‑over‑year revenue increase, and analysts forecast roughly $1.73 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Insiders sold 139,309 shares worth roughly $9.06M over the last quarter (insiders still own 11.10%), while institutional investors hold about 91.55% of the stock.

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $77.6667.

A number of research firms recently commented on CHEF. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Chefs' Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 price target on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, February 12th.

Chefs' Warehouse Price Performance

CHEF stock opened at $64.49 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $64.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.02. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.05. Chefs' Warehouse has a 1 year low of $51.53 and a 1 year high of $73.94.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. Chefs' Warehouse had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 1.74%.The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Chefs' Warehouse's revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Chefs' Warehouse will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the insider owned 30,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,972,728.45. This represents a 9.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Tim Mccauley sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $525,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 44,662 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,340. This trade represents a 14.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 139,309 shares of company stock valued at $9,060,197 over the last quarter. Insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Chefs' Warehouse

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 229.5% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 458 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 515.3% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Chefs' Warehouse in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Chefs' Warehouse by 30.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. 91.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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