Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target Raised to $105.00

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its target price hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $92.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on CAKE. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $75.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.47.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CAKE opened at $112.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $94.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.25. Cheesecake Factory has a 1-year low of $43.07 and a 1-year high of $118.46.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.26. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.97% and a net margin of 4.61%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $999.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, Chairman David Overton sold 94,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.27, for a total transaction of $10,004,789.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,543,577.35. This trade represents a 51.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President David M. Gordon sold 31,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.03, for a total transaction of $3,515,458.50. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 26,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,957,056.25. This trade represents a 54.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 216,239 shares of company stock worth $22,463,500 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAKE. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 115.8% during the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 682 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) is an American restaurant company and distributor renowned for its full-service casual-dining concept and specialty cheesecakes. Headquartered in Calabasas Hills, California, the company operates more than 200 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory® brand across the United States, Puerto Rico and select international markets. In addition to sit-down dining, Cheesecake Factory franchised locations offer catering and take-out services, while a separate manufacturing arm supplies branded cheesecakes and desserts to supermarkets, hotels and other foodservice operators.

The origins of the brand trace back to a small cheesecake bakery founded in Detroit in the 1940s.