poised to outperform, and one way to find them is by following the recommendations of analysts with a proven track record of success. TipRanks analyst forecasting service attempts to identify the best-performing analysts on Wall Street, or the analysts with the highest success rate and average return per rating. These metrics take the number of ratings published by each analyst into account.
Here are the best-performing analysts’ top stock picks right now:
The Chefs’ Warehouse
The Chefs’ Warehouse, a distributor of specialty food products, focuses on independent and chef-inspired restaurants.
Stating in a research note that this name has “great ingredients for a great reopening,” Lake Street Capital analyst Ben Klieve initiated coverage of The Chefs’ Warehouse with a Buy rating on April 5. Additionally, he set a $38 price target, which puts the upside potential at 21%.
Klieve acknowledges the fact that the company was up against “unprecedented headwinds throughout 2020.” However, he argues that these headwinds are subsiding.
“Amid nationwide restrictions on indoor dining, we believe the company made it through 2020 in as good of a position as could be expected. We look for significant sequential improvement throughout 2021 as governments lift restrictions and a return to near-normal conditions by the end of 2022. We expect the stock can return to pre-pandemic levels as investors better-appreciate Chefs’ competitive position, economic moat, and earnings power,” Klieve commented.
Given that CHEF’s niche is the independent and chef-inspired restaurant space, Klieve believes the company’s position within the distribution industry is solid, with “significant pent-up demand exists for a return to these same restaurants for indoor dining,” in the analyst’s opinion. He added, “Company management describes an investment in CHEF as investing in one’s favorite neighborhood restaurant, an apt description in our view, and one which we believe represents a significant catalyst for 2021.”
When it comes to the valuation, Klieve tells investors “the CHEF value proposition is not predicated on where the stock can be in a manner of days or weeks, but where a broadly reopened economy can take the stock in a year.”
Currently, Klieve is tracking a 62% success rate and 29.9% average return per rating.
