Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $85.40 and last traded at $85.4870, with a volume of 85448 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAKE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $58.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Argus set a $72.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Friday, May 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.75.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 3.1%

The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.40.

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

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 35.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Cheesecake Factory news, 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 owned 3,079,779 shares in the company, valued at $187,928,114.58. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total transaction of $161,601.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at $400,497.90. This represents a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 8.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the period. NFSG Corp increased its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 115.8% during the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 682 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently 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.