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

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.4667.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CAKE shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Cheesecake Factory to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Cheesecake Factory from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $50.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stephens reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $107.58 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.35. The firm has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.01. Cheesecake Factory has a 12-month low of $43.07 and a 12-month high of $118.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.26. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 43.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chairman owned 89,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,543,577.35. This trade represents a 51.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President David M. Gordon sold 31,950 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were 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 directly owned 26,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,957,056.25. The trade was a 54.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 213,749 shares of company stock worth $22,301,899 over the last quarter. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Cheesecake Factory by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,487 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.5% in the 2nd 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 period. Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 3.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

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.