Topic: How To Invest

Q: Hi Pat: I am curious as to what you think of Chef’s Warehouse. Thank you for your great advice over the years.

Article Excerpt

A: The Chef’s Warehouse, $19.85, symbol CHEF on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 26.4 million; Market cap: $520.6 million, www.chefswarehouse.com), distributes specialty food products in the U.S. and Canada. Its product portfolio includes about 43,000 items comprising specialty foods such as artisan charcuterie (prepared meats), gourmet cheeses, unique oils and vinegars, truffles, caviar, chocolate, and pastry. The company also offers a line of “center-of-the-plate products,” including custom-cut beef, seafood, and hormone-free poultry. It also sells other food products such as cooking oils, butter, eggs, milk, and flour. The Chef’s Warehouse serves menu-driven independent restaurants, fine-dining establishments, country clubs, hotels, caterers, culinary schools, bakeries, patisseries, chocolatiers, cruise lines, casinos, and specialty food stores. The company markets its center-of-the-plate products directly to consumers through a mail and e-commerce platform. In the three months ended June 30, 2017, the Chef’s Warehouse had revenue of $331.7 million, up 13.9% from $291.2 million a year earlier. Earnings fell 4.5%, to $3.8 million, or $0.14 a share, from $4.0 million, or…