Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday . 2,124,373 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 319% from the previous session’s volume of 506,889 shares.The stock last traded at $110.6110 and had previously closed at $112.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CHEF shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark increased their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.43.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Down 0.9%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.03 and a 200-day moving average of $78.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.73 and a beta of 1.39.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 16.95% and a net margin of 2.09%.The business’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chefs’ Warehouse news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CHEF. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 172,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,228,000 after acquiring an additional 13,318 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,807,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,010,000 after purchasing an additional 58,154 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the 1st quarter worth approximately $546,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 264,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,538,000 after purchasing an additional 34,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,630,000. 91.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.