Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $50.82 and last traded at $50.60, with a volume of 27577 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAKE. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.75.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.30. The company has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.47.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.13 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.90% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $653,178.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $747,052.76. This represents a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 276.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. Wealth Alliance acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter valued at about $213,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter worth approximately $223,000. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the third quarter worth approximately $227,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.