The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) Receives $80.83 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.8333.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research set a $84.00 price target on Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock opened at $80.34 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.63 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.23. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 12-month low of $53.20 and a 12-month high of $82.81.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.17. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total transaction of $9,750,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $217,097.65. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,972,728.45. This trade represents a 9.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 264,309 shares of company stock valued at $18,810,197 in the last three months. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CHEF. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 229.5% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 515.3% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.