UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price target raised by UBS Group from $36.00 to $41.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sell” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 17.55% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CAKE. Bank of America increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.40.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

NASDAQ:CAKE opened at $49.73 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.50. Cheesecake Factory has a 12-month low of $31.24 and a 12-month high of $52.10.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.13 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.90% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $653,178.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $747,052.76. This trade represents a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 37,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position 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 worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,074 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

About Cheesecake Factory

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.