First Eagle Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 457,926 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.15% of Chefs’ Warehouse worth $17,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,289,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,440,000 after buying an additional 14,209 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 17.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 151,846 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,011,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,763,000 after purchasing an additional 60,154 shares in the last quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $23,383,000 after purchasing an additional 461,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 760,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,635,000 after purchasing an additional 16,104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 2,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $87,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 136,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,459,080. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $825,000 in the last three months. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.75.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

CHEF opened at $40.49 on Thursday. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.29 and a twelve month high of $44.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 46.54 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.37.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 1.11%. The business had revenue of $954.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $945.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chefs’ Warehouse 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.