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

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price target raised by Robert W. Baird from $52.00 to $57.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.19.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CAKE opened at $54.65 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Cheesecake Factory has a 1 year low of $33.05 and a 1 year high of $57.32.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $920.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $912.67 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 45.89%. As a group, research analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.75%.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.