Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of CAKE Q4 Earnings

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) – Zacks Research boosted their Q4 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Cheesecake Factory in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 5th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $1.27 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.98. The consensus estimate for Cheesecake Factory’s current full-year earnings is $3.71 per share.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CAKE. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.19.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $49.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.55. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $33.05 and a 52-week high of $57.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.60.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. The business had revenue of $920.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $912.67 million.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheesecake Factory news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total value of $1,553,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 39,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,687.36. This represents a 42.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total value of $5,308,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 3,092,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,131,162.76. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,805 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,051 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,045 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,772 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.