Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $99.47 and last traded at $97.2070, with a volume of 27813 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CHEF shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. BTIG Research upped their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.57.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.48 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $84.93 and its 200-day moving average is $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.

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

Insider Activity at Chefs’ Warehouse

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter worth about $7,142,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,807,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,010,000 after purchasing an additional 58,154 shares in the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 264,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,538,000 after purchasing an additional 34,011 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 207,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,907,000 after buying an additional 33,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 18.6% in 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. 91.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.