Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Receives “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $50.00 target price on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on CHEF. UBS Group upped their price objective 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 target on Chefs’ Warehouse from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock traded up $0.84 on Thursday, hitting $37.78. 371,895 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 350,811. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.86. Chefs’ Warehouse has a one year low of $17.29 and a one year high of $39.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.43 and a beta of 2.22. 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 (NASDAQ:CHEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $874.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.25 million. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 0.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Chefs’ Warehouse will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chefs’ Warehouse

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Granahan Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 138.5% during the fourth quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 794,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,383,000 after buying an additional 461,455 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 4th quarter worth $12,495,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 2,010.2% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 301,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,863,000 after acquiring an additional 286,870 shares in the last quarter. Scout Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,715,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted 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 worth $30,811,000 after purchasing an additional 151,846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

Chefs’ Warehouse Company Profile

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.