Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $819,000 Stock Holdings in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CHEF. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 67.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the third quarter worth $225,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 95.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 7.6% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CHEF. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $60.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 114,342 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,390. The trade was a 4.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO James Leddy sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.85, for a total transaction of $195,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 145,589 shares in the company, valued at $7,112,022.65. This represents a 2.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Chefs’ Warehouse Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CHEF opened at $66.35 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a one year low of $31.96 and a one year high of $66.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 58.20 and a beta of 2.29.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.28% and a return on equity of 12.67%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.