UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group cut its price target on Chefs' Warehouse to $80 (from $83) while keeping a buy rating, implying roughly a 23% upside from the current share price.
• Consensus among analysts is a Moderate Buy: five Buy and two Hold ratings, with an average target price of $77.17.
• Chefs' Warehouse recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.68 vs. $0.62; revenue $1.14B vs. $1.10B), but insiders sold about 139,309 shares (~$9.06M) in the last quarter, including CEO Christopher Pappas's sale of 95,908 shares.

Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at UBS Group from $83.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.17% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CHEF. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 target price on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a report on Thursday, February 12th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Chefs' Warehouse in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chefs' Warehouse from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.17.

Chefs' Warehouse Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHEF traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $64.95. The stock had a trading volume of 343,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 453,120. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $64.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.32. Chefs' Warehouse has a 1-year low of $51.95 and a 1-year high of $73.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.36 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 (NASDAQ:CHEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. Chefs' Warehouse had a net margin of 1.74% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The business's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Chefs' Warehouse will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Chefs' Warehouse

In other Chefs' Warehouse news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 95,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.53, for a total value of $5,997,127.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,398,522 shares in the company, valued at $149,979,580.66. This represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 3,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 30,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,972,728.45. The trade was a 9.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 139,309 shares of company stock worth $9,060,197 in the last quarter. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs' Warehouse

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 515.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 523 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Chefs' Warehouse during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chefs' Warehouse by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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