Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

CHEF has been the subject of several other reports. BTIG Research increased their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 target price on Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.83.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

Chefs’ Warehouse stock opened at $80.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.72 and a beta of 1.47. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $65.53 and a 200-day moving average of $63.95. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 52 week low of $53.20 and a 52 week high of $82.81.

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

Insider Transactions at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 3,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $217,097.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,972,728.45. This represents a 9.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Tim Mccauley sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $525,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 44,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,340. This represents a 14.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 264,309 shares of company stock valued at $18,810,197. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 229.5% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 515.3% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse in the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. 91.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.