Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Lifted to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a report on Thursday.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

CHEF stock opened at $37.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 1 year low of $17.29 and a 1 year high of $39.00. The company has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.43 and a beta of 2.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.01.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.08. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 0.98%. The business had revenue of $874.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHEF. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,637,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,858,000 after purchasing an additional 15,970 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Chefs’ Warehouse by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,399,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,641,000 after buying an additional 10,036 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,046,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,811,000 after acquiring an additional 151,846 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,011,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,763,000 after acquiring an additional 60,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 19.4% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 801,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,971,000 after acquiring an additional 130,457 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

About Chefs’ Warehouse

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes specialty food and center-of-the-plate products in the United States, the Middle East, and Canada. The company's product portfolio includes specialty food products, such as artisan charcuterie, specialty cheeses, unique oils and vinegars, truffles, caviar, chocolate, and pastry products; and center-of-the-plate products consisting of custom cut beef, seafood, and hormone-free poultry, as well as broadline food products comprising cooking oils, butter, eggs, milk, and flour.