Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

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

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.67.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Up 4.8%

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

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 16.95% and a net margin of 2.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Chefs’ Warehouse’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chefs’ Warehouse news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 2,752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $308,224.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,465,568. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.11, for a total value of $11,011,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,105,480 shares in the company, valued at $231,834,402.80. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,752 shares of company stock valued at $15,203,174. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chefs’ Warehouse

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 75.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 8.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 158.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 2nd quarter valued at about $993,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

About Chefs’ Warehouse

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.