Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $76.54 and last traded at $76.27, with a volume of 483439 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $73.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CAKE shares. UBS Group set a $53.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.94.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.04.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.74% and a net margin of 4.34%.The company had revenue of $978.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $964.57 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 35.09%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total value of $161,601.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at $400,497.90. The trade was a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total transaction of $6,346,080.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,079,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $187,928,114.58. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAKE. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 28,742 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 92,664 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,509,000 after acquiring an additional 21,887 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 109,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,343,000 after acquiring an additional 8,592 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 32.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,333 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 5.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 112,020 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,019,000 after purchasing an additional 5,326 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.