Why Chefs' Warehouse Shares Are Sizzling

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of The Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ: CHEF  ) rose as much as 10% today, and have settled into gains slightly in excess of 8% at the close, after the market reacted favorably to a strong earnings report.

So what: Chefs' Warehouse reported revenue of $142.6 million for its fourth quarter, a 22% gain year over year, and well in advance of the $130.2 million Wall Street consensus. On the bottom line, Chefs' Warehouse earned $0.24 per share, $0.02 better than the consensus. Looking ahead, the company now sees full-year revenue for 2013 in the $610 million to $640 million range, and EPS of $0.88 to $0.98. Chefs' Warehouse's revenue guidance is well ahead of the $568.2 million that analysts sought, but EPS barely surpasses the consensus of $0.96.

Now what: The company's EPS guidance is at least 28% higher and, at most, 42% higher than its 2012 fiscal-year result. That's a pretty impressive growth rate for a company with a relatively modest 23.6 P/E, after today's report. It might be worth keeping your eye on this company. Nobody's going to stop eating any time soon.

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