Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) saw strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 2,124,373 shares were traded 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CHEF. Weiss Ratings upgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased 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. UBS Group raised their price target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chefs’ Warehouse currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.43.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $98.59 and a 200-day moving average of $78.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.94 and a beta of 1.39.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 16.95% and a net margin of 2.09%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Chefs’ Warehouse by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in 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 valued at $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 4.9% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

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.