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

First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 394,861 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.00% of Chefs’ Warehouse worth $19,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 303.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 67.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the 3rd quarter worth $225,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 95.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

Chefs’ Warehouse stock opened at $52.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 39.78 and a beta of 2.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.71. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.96 and a twelve month high of $66.51.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 12.90%. Research analysts expect that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

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.