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The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF)

Consumer Defensive | Food Distribution | Ridgefield, United States | NasdaqGS
65.82 USD +2.84 (4.509%) ⇧ (April 17, 2026, 4 p.m. EDT)
After hours: 65.80 -0.02 (-0.020%) ⇩ (April 17, 2026, 6:14 p.m. EDT)

Short-term: ★★☆☆☆ | Long-term: ★★★☆☆ | Dividends: ☆☆☆☆☆
Hot Take | April 19, 2026, 12:20 a.m. EDT

Despite a 'strong buy' analyst consensus, CHEF faces immediate overhangs: negative earnings growth (-9.6%) and low margins (-1.2%) combined with a lack of dividends and a short ratio of 9.04%. The unbalanced options flow is overweighted on downside protection (puts) versus upside exposure (calls), and the 15% short interest suggests the 'average' investor has missed the boat while professionals are positioning for a drop. With a PE ratio of ~26 forward compared to a high of 73 seen recently, the stock has made a significant recovery, but the technicals and flow suggest the 'floor' is a defensive attractor rather than an aggressive thrust. Hold the bottom, but don't chase the recent bounce.

Model Selection — Backtest MAE (log-scale, lower is better)
ModelMAE
AutoTheta ✓0.044533
AutoETS0.044685
AutoARIMA0.044777
MSTL0.045235

Forecast horizon: 45 days | Selected: AutoTheta

Forecast Reliability
Score 71%
H-stat 1.30
Ljung-Box p 0.000
Jarque-Bera p 0.494
Excess Kurtosis -0.29
Attribute Value
Sector Consumer Defensive
Debt to Equity Ratio 161.325
Revenue per Share 107.17
Market Cap 2,683,983,360
Trailing P/E 39.18
Forward P/E 26.53
Beta 1.34
Profit Margins 1.74%
Website https://www.chefswarehouse.com

As of April 19, 2026, 12:20 a.m. EDT: Implied volatility (IV) data for May and July 2026 shows high pricing (61% IV for near-term calls), suggesting speculators anticipate significant range-bound activity or a spike in uncertainty. Open Interest (OI) is heavily skewed towards downside protection in the medium term (July 2026 puts show massive OI at 50 and 174 contracts below current price), establishing a 'put wall' at the 50-55 strike range. In contrast, call interest is thin and mixed, with 'New Flow' only appearing at 70.00 calls. The price action history shows the stock recently rallied to 65.82 after hitting lows around 57.59, indicating a short-term bounce off the put support. However, the overwhelming volume in out-of-the-money puts suggests strong speculator hedging or bearish positioning against further decline.


Info Dump

Attribute Value
52 Week Change 0.25371432
Address1 100 East Ridge Road
All Time High 73.94
All Time Low 3.55
Ask 82.48
Ask Size 2
Audit Risk 3
Average Analyst Rating 1.4 - Strong Buy
Average Daily Volume10 Day 431,560
Average Daily Volume3 Month 443,493
Average Volume 443,493
Average Volume10Days 431,560
Beta 1.34
Bid 46.9
Bid Size 2
Board Risk 6
Book Value 14.855
City Ridgefield
Compensation As Of Epoch Date 1,767,139,200
Compensation Risk 2
Country United States
Crypto Tradeable 0
Currency USD
Current Price 65.82
Current Ratio 2.049
Custom Price Alert Confidence HIGH
Date Short Interest 1,774,915,200
Day High 65.93
Day Low 63.43
Debt To Equity 161.325
Display Name The Chefs' Warehouse
Earnings Call Timestamp End 1,777,465,800
Earnings Call Timestamp Start 1,777,465,800
Earnings Growth -0.096
Earnings Quarterly Growth -0.094
Earnings Timestamp 1,777,465,800
Earnings Timestamp End 1,777,465,800
Earnings Timestamp Start 1,777,465,800
Ebitda 227,784,000
Ebitda Margins 0.05489
Enterprise To Ebitda 15.508
Enterprise To Revenue 0.851
Enterprise Value 3,532,416,512
Eps Current Year 2.14734
Eps Forward 2.48101
Eps Trailing Twelve Months 1.68
Esg Populated 0
Exchange NMS
Exchange Data Delayed By 0
Exchange Timezone Name America/New_York
Exchange Timezone Short Name EDT
Fifty Day Average 64.2234
Fifty Day Average Change 1.5966034
Fifty Day Average Change Percent 0.024860151
Fifty Two Week Change Percent 25.371433
Fifty Two Week High 73.94
Fifty Two Week High Change -8.120003
Fifty Two Week High Change Percent -0.10981881
Fifty Two Week Low 51.53
Fifty Two Week Low Change 14.290001
Fifty Two Week Low Change Percent 0.27731422
Fifty Two Week Range 51.53 - 73.94
Financial Currency USD
First Trade Date Milliseconds 1,311,859,800,000
Float Shares 36,515,749
Forward Eps 2.48101
Forward P E 26.529518
Free Cashflow 68,840,376
Full Exchange Name NasdaqGS
Full Time Employees 5,156
Gmt Off Set Milliseconds -14,400,000
Governance Epoch Date 1,775,001,600
Gross Margins 0.24198
Gross Profits 1,004,089,984
Has Pre Post Market Data 1
Held Percent Insiders 0.109610006
Held Percent Institutions 0.99338996
Implied Shares Outstanding 40,777,629
Industry Food Distribution
Industry Disp Food Distribution
Industry Key food-distribution
Is Earnings Date Estimate 0
Language en-US
Last Fiscal Year End 1,766,707,200
Long Business Summary 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. It offers 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 that includes custom cut beef, seafood, and hormone-free poultry, as well as produce and broadline food products comprising cooking oils, butter, eggs, milk, and flour. The company serves menu-driven independent restaurants, fine dining establishments, country clubs, hotels, caterers, culinary schools, bakeries, patisseries, chocolatiers, cruise lines, casinos, and specialty food stores. It markets its center-of-the-plate products directly to consumers through a mail and e-commerce platform. The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Long Name The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.
Market us_market
Market Cap 2,683,983,360
Market State CLOSED
Max Age 86,400
Message Board Id finmb_4370094
Most Recent Quarter 1,766,707,200
Net Income To Common 72,361,000
Next Fiscal Year End 1,798,243,200
Non Diluted Market Cap 2,684,799,093
Number Of Analyst Opinions 8
Open 63.97
Operating Cashflow 129,219,000
Operating Margins 0.04715
Overall Risk 2
Payout Ratio 0.0
Peg Ratio 1.08
Phone 203 894 1345
Post Market Change -0.019996643
Post Market Change Percent -0.0303808
Post Market Price 65.8
Post Market Time 1,776,464,057
Previous Close 62.98
Price Eps Current Year 30.651875
Price Hint 2
Price To Book 4.4308314
Price To Sales Trailing12 Months 0.6468151
Profit Margins 0.017439999
Quick Ratio 1.142
Quote Source Name Nasdaq Real Time Price
Quote Type EQUITY
Recommendation Key strong_buy
Recommendation Mean 1.375
Region US
Regular Market Change 2.84
Regular Market Change Percent 4.50937
Regular Market Day High 65.93
Regular Market Day Low 63.43
Regular Market Day Range 63.43 - 65.93
Regular Market Open 63.97
Regular Market Previous Close 62.98
Regular Market Price 65.82
Regular Market Time 1,776,456,001
Regular Market Volume 583,649
Return On Assets 0.05009
Return On Equity 0.12673001
Revenue Growth 0.105
Revenue Per Share 107.17
Sand P52 Week Change 0.38150132
Sector Consumer Defensive
Sector Disp Consumer Defensive
Sector Key consumer-defensive
Share Holder Rights Risk 2
Shares Outstanding 40,777,629
Shares Percent Shares Out 0.1149
Shares Short 4,686,966
Shares Short Previous Month Date 1,772,150,400
Shares Short Prior Month 4,833,610
Short Name The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.
Short Percent Of Float 0.1513
Short Ratio 9.04
Source Interval 15
State CT
Symbol CHEF
Target High Price 85.0
Target Low Price 66.0
Target Mean Price 77.125
Target Median Price 76.5
Total Cash 120,982,000
Total Cash Per Share 2.973
Total Debt 974,904,000
Total Revenue 4,149,537,024
Tradeable 0
Trailing Annual Dividend Rate 0.0
Trailing Annual Dividend Yield 0.0
Trailing Eps 1.68
Trailing P E 39.178574
Trailing Peg Ratio None
Triggerable 1
Two Hundred Day Average 62.5906
Two Hundred Day Average Change 3.2294006
Two Hundred Day Average Change Percent 0.051595617
Type Disp Equity
Volume 583,649
Website https://www.chefswarehouse.com
Zip 6,877