The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF is Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s Largest Position

Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 7.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 912,353 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 65,584 shares during the quarter. Chefs’ Warehouse makes up 1.2% of Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse were worth $53,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CHEF. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 931,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,344,000 after buying an additional 58,046 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at $736,000. Summit Creek Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,431,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 69.1% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 69,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,410,000 after acquiring an additional 28,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 141,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,253,000 after acquiring an additional 20,785 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ CHEF traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $64.25. The company had a trading volume of 26,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 449,531. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.16 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.97 and a 200 day moving average of $62.47. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.00 and a 1-year high of $73.94.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.74% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Chefs’ Warehouse

In related news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 95,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.53, for a total transaction of $5,997,127.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,398,522 shares in the company, valued at $149,979,580.66. This trade represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 3,317 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $217,097.65. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,309 shares of company stock valued at $9,060,197. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CHEF shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.67.

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.