Have Insiders Sold Chefs' Warehouse Shares Recently?

Some The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Gen. Counsel, Alexandros Aldous, recently sold a substantial US$1.8m worth of stock at a price of US$60.71 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 24% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

View our latest analysis for Chefs' Warehouse

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Chefs' Warehouse

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Founder, Christopher Pappas, sold US$9.8m worth of shares at a price of US$48.85 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$62.35, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 7.4% of Christopher Pappas's stake.

Chefs' Warehouse insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like Chefs' Warehouse better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Does Chefs' Warehouse Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Chefs' Warehouse insiders own about US$276m worth of shares (which is 11% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Chefs' Warehouse Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Chefs' Warehouse stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But it is good to see that Chefs' Warehouse is growing earnings. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Be aware that Chefs' Warehouse is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those can't be ignored...

Of course Chefs' Warehouse may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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