Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $99.68 and last traded at $98.76, with a volume of 233952 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $98.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CHEF shares. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $83.00 to $97.00 in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Benchmark upped their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.86.

Chefs’ Warehouse Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $87.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 56.87 and a beta of 1.39.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.17. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total value of $356,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,951,892.82. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHEF. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 1.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 4.9% in 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 in the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.