Penn Capital Management Company LLC Reduces Holdings in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Penn Capital Management Company LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 230,603 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,178 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned about 0.57% of Chefs’ Warehouse worth $13,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the third quarter worth $39,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the third quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the first quarter valued at $98,000. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

Chefs’ Warehouse stock opened at $62.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.47. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.00 and a 52 week high of $73.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.05 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 1.74%.The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, CAO Tim Mccauley sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $525,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 44,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,340. The trade was a 14.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 29,500 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $2,100,990.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 72,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,129,050.74. This trade represents a 29.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 139,309 shares of company stock valued at $9,060,197 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CHEF. Zacks Research lowered Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.67.

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.