The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.19.

A number of research firms recently commented on CAKE. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

CAKE opened at $52.47 on Friday. Cheesecake Factory has a 12-month low of $33.05 and a 12-month high of $57.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted 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 business had revenue of $920.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $912.67 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 45.89%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is presently 33.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th 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 valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.