Argus Cuts Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target to $55.00

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Argus from $72.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Argus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.06% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on CAKE. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $70.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Oppenheimer set a $70.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.18.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CAKE traded up $0.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $47.80. 679,337 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,436,748. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average is $54.99 and its 200-day moving average is $57.46. Cheesecake Factory has a one year low of $42.69 and a one year high of $69.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $907.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $912.95 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 47.25% and a net margin of 4.33%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President David M. Gordon sold 43,335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.06, for a total transaction of $2,732,705.10. Following the transaction, the president owned 24,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,546,987.92. The trade was a 63.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAKE. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 156.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,045,705 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $148,204,000 after buying an additional 1,859,194 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 83.5% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,591,205 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $126,088,000 after buying an additional 1,178,722 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 64.1% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,766,131 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $85,940,000 after buying an additional 689,784 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,704,314 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $106,792,000 after buying an additional 99,688 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter valued at about $75,795,000. 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.