The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.4667.

A number of analysts have recently commented on CAKE shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Cheesecake Factory to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens restated a “positive” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, insider Ashley W. Hanscom sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $754,100. This represents a 31.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 94,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.27, for a total value of $10,004,789.15. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 89,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,543,577.35. The trade was a 51.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 213,749 shares of company stock worth $22,301,899 over the last quarter. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,487 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 3.8% during the first quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 5,802 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $109.49 on Tuesday. Cheesecake Factory has a fifty-two week low of $43.07 and a fifty-two week high of $118.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.00.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

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.