Insider Selling: Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Insider Sells $356,445.00 in Stock

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,951,892.82. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Christina Polychroni also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 2nd, Christina Polychroni sold 3,317 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $217,097.65.
• On Friday, February 27th, Christina Polychroni sold 3,084 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total value of $219,981.72.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:CHEF opened at $76.46 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $67.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.86. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.20 and a 12-month high of $82.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.48 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.17. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 1.87%.The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Benchmark raised their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.83.

Institutional Trading of Chefs’ Warehouse

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CHEF. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the first quarter worth about $352,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 50.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 130,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,101,000 after purchasing an additional 43,593 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $243,000. 91.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.