JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target to $48.00

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $55.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential downside of 1.44% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on CAKE. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.81.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ CAKE opened at $48.70 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.22, 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.10.

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

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total transaction of $5,308,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,092,147 shares in the company, valued at $164,131,162.76. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of the 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 approximately $2,134,687.36. This trade represents a 42.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.