Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley cut shares of Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $97.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $83.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Benchmark raised their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Chefs’ Warehouse in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chefs’ Warehouse currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.86.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CHEF opened at $97.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.18. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 1 year low of $53.20 and a 1 year high of $102.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.93 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.87.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last posted 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total transaction of $356,445.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 24,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,951,892.82. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at $170,777,334. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chefs’ Warehouse

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the first quarter worth about $275,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 98.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse in the first quarter valued at about $546,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 27.2% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,640,000 after purchasing an additional 9,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 332,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,759,000 after purchasing an additional 64,090 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.