The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Chefs' Warehouse has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from seven covering analysts, with an average 12-month price target of about $80.83.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.40 versus the $0.23 estimate and revenue of $1.06 billion, up 11.4% year over year.
• Shares opened at $81.71, near the stock’s 52-week high of $82.81, while insiders have been selling shares over the past 90 days and institutional investors own 91.55% of the stock.

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.8333.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Chefs' Warehouse from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Benchmark boosted their target price on Chefs' Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Chefs' Warehouse from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Chefs' Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, April 30th.

Chefs' Warehouse Stock Performance

Shares of CHEF stock opened at $81.71 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 45.39 and a beta of 1.47. Chefs' Warehouse has a 52-week low of $53.20 and a 52-week high of $82.81. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $64.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.35. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Chefs' Warehouse will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chefs' Warehouse news, CAO Tim Mccauley sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $525,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 44,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,340. The trade was a 14.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 29,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $2,100,990.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 72,017 shares in the company, valued at $5,129,050.74. The trade was a 29.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 264,309 shares of company stock worth $18,810,197. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs' Warehouse

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CHEF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 229.5% in 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 during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 515.3% in 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 during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Chefs' Warehouse in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.55% of the company's stock.

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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