The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $54.00.

CAKE has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ CAKE opened at $53.64 on Wednesday. Cheesecake Factory has a one year low of $33.50 and a one year high of $57.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $49.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.94.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $927.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheesecake Factory news, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total value of $5,308,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of Cheesecake Factory 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,687.36. This represents a 42.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter valued at approximately $72,000. 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.