William Blair Issues Optimistic Forecast for CAKE Earnings

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) – Equities research analysts at William Blair raised their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Cheesecake Factory in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, October 29th. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $0.92 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.87. The consensus estimate for Cheesecake Factory’s current full-year earnings is $3.21 per share.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.17.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CAKE opened at $46.22 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.49. Cheesecake Factory has a fifty-two week low of $29.27 and a fifty-two week high of $49.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.41.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $865.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.13 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 3.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.19%.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $927,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 23,110 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 40,881 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated operates and licenses restaurants in the United States and Canada. The company operates bakeries that produce cheesecakes and other baked products for its restaurants, international licensees, third-party bakery customers, external foodservice operators, retailers, and distributors.