Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target Raised to $57.00

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price target increased by Stephens from $51.00 to $57.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

CAKE has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.08.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CAKE opened at $49.87 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.92 and a 200 day moving average of $41.12. The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.48. Cheesecake Factory has a 12 month low of $31.24 and a 12 month high of $52.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 EPS 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 net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 43.90%. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.06%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $653,178.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $747,052.76. The trade was a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter valued at $67,000. Wealth Alliance purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 3rd quarter valued at $223,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Cheesecake Factory by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.