Granite Investment Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF

Granite Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 42.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 76,427 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,430 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse were worth $4,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.1% in the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 17,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 273,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,244,000 after purchasing an additional 47,243 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 1st quarter worth approximately $957,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 1st quarter worth approximately $571,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 111.8% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 10,381 shares during the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Down 2.0%

Chefs’ Warehouse stock opened at $96.27 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.20 and a 1-year high of $99.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.48 and a beta of 1.39.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last posted its 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 return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 1.87%.The firm 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 business posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chefs’ Warehouse news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on CHEF shares. Zacks Research downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Benchmark upped their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chefs’ Warehouse presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.57.

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.