Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $92.24 and last traded at $92.9720, with a volume of 19851 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $90.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHEF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chefs’ Warehouse presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.83.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Up 2.0%

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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.00. The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 51.43 and a beta of 1.44.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.17. The company 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%.Chefs’ Warehouse’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Chefs’ Warehouse

In other news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 24,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,951,892.82. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $9,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at $170,777,334. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 98.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the first quarter worth $546,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 27.2% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,640,000 after purchasing an additional 9,490 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 23.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 332,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,759,000 after purchasing an additional 64,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Chefs’ Warehouse during the first quarter worth $275,000. 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.