Morgan Stanley Increases Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Price Target to $104.00

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $104.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 5.14% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on CHEF. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.71.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of CHEF stock traded up $4.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $109.64. The company had a trading volume of 423,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 498,650. The company has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.91 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 12 month low of $53.20 and a 12 month high of $112.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.94.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 1.87%.Chefs’ Warehouse’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Chefs’ Warehouse news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $9,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total transaction of $356,445.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 24,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,951,892.82. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the third quarter valued at $7,142,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,807,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,010,000 after acquiring an additional 58,154 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 264,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,538,000 after acquiring an additional 34,011 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,104,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,864,000 after acquiring an additional 173,155 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 207,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,907,000 after acquiring an additional 33,810 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

More Chefs’ Warehouse News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chefs’ Warehouse this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter results exceeded expectations. CHEF reported adjusted earnings of $0.78 per share versus the $0.59-$0.64 consensus range and revenue of $1.17 billion versus expectations of approximately $1.12 billion. Revenue grew 12.9% year over year, while EPS increased from $0.52 in the prior-year quarter. The Chefs’ Warehouse Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year revenue guidance supports the growth narrative. Management projected fiscal 2026 revenue of $4.5 billion to $4.6 billion, broadly consistent with or slightly above analyst expectations. The company did not provide a specific EPS outlook in the reported update. The Chefs’ Warehouse Shares Rise After FY26 Revenue Outlook, 2Q Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research raised its price target to $125 from $100 and reiterated a Buy rating. The higher target signals confidence that CHEF can continue benefiting from earnings momentum and operating growth. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning was mixed. Recent filings showed 130 institutions adding shares and 108 reducing positions, including additions by Wellington, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock. This indicates continued institutional interest but not uniform conviction.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling remains a risk signal. Company insiders reported seven open-market sales and no purchases during the past six months, including substantial sales by CEO Christopher Pappas. These transactions may temper enthusiasm after the stock’s sharp advance.

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.