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

Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.9375.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $64.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $54.42 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.81. Cheesecake Factory has a 12 month low of $40.72 and a 12 month high of $69.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $955.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $945.82 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.92% and a net margin of 4.33%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 12,388 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.88, for a total transaction of $816,121.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,806 shares in the company, valued at $448,379.28. This represents a 64.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President David M. Gordon sold 43,335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 8.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 632 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,244 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter valued at $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

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.