Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Stock Rating Upgraded by TD Cowen

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) was upgraded by equities researchers at TD Cowen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CHEF. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research increased 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. Zacks Research lowered Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Chefs’ Warehouse has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.57.

Chefs’ Warehouse Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHEF opened at $98.21 on Tuesday. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 1-year low of $53.20 and a 1-year high of $99.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 54.56 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $84.34 and its 200-day moving average is $71.02. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 1.87%.Chefs’ Warehouse’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Chefs’ Warehouse

In other news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total value of $356,445.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,951,892.82. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 18,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 4.9% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.