16,100 Shares in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 16,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $957,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,930,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,656,000 after acquiring an additional 318,942 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 2,871.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 251,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,668,000 after purchasing an additional 242,917 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,104,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,864,000 after buying an additional 173,155 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 230.8% during the third quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 85,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,958,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the 3rd quarter worth $7,142,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHEF opened at $95.62 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $83.08 and a 200-day moving average of $70.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.18. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.20 and a twelve month high of $97.63. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 53.12 and a beta of 1.39.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.17. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total value of $356,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,951,892.82. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was 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 approximately $170,777,334. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CHEF. Zacks Research downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chefs’ Warehouse presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.83.

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.