Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.67.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CHEF opened at $113.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 53.81 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.96. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 1-year low of $56.46 and a 1-year high of $118.51.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 16.95%. Chefs’ Warehouse’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.11, for a total transaction of $11,011,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,105,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,834,402.80. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.97, for a total transaction of $3,883,950.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 34,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,822,028.74. This trade represents a 50.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 137,752 shares of company stock worth $15,203,174. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,619,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,010,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 117,849.5% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 231,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,744,000 after purchasing an additional 230,985 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 2nd quarter valued at about $22,116,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the 2nd quarter worth about $18,705,000. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chefs’ Warehouse Company Profile

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc is a specialty food distributor that supplies professional chefs, restaurants, hotels, culinary institutions, specialty retailers and other foodservice customers. The company focuses on products that are often difficult to source through broadline distributors, including specialty and center-of-the-plate items.

Its product offerings include fresh produce, seafood, meat and poultry, dairy, imported and domestic cheeses, charcuterie, specialty grocery products, dry goods, frozen foods, and culinary supplies.