Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised Cheesecake Factory’s price target from $105 to $110 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying approximately 3.84% downside from the stock’s reported $114.39 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly neutral: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $90.67, despite several recent target increases and one “Strong Buy” rating.
• Cheesecake Factory reported quarterly earnings of $1.44 per share, beating estimates by $0.26, while revenue rose 7.7% year over year to $1.03 billion. Insiders sold roughly $22.3 million of stock during the last quarter.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $110.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 3.84% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CAKE. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.67.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of CAKE stock opened at $114.39 on Wednesday. Cheesecake Factory has a twelve month low of $43.07 and a twelve month high of $118.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The business's fifty day moving average is $107.88 and its 200 day moving average is $85.45. The stock has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.04.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 43.97% and a net margin of 4.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, President David Gordon sold 31,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.03, for a total value of $3,515,458.50. Following the sale, the president directly owned 26,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,957,056.25. This trade represents a 54.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scarlett May sold 7,978 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.66, for a total transaction of $819,021.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,872,621.06. The trade was a 30.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 213,749 shares of company stock valued at $22,301,899. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,242,143 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $68,008,000 after purchasing an additional 29,037 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,020,000. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,793,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,792,000. Finally, PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,743,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated is a restaurant company best known for The Cheesecake Factory, a full-service casual dining brand offering an extensive menu of American and international-inspired dishes, along with a broad selection of cheesecakes and other desserts. The company also operates North Italia, an Italian restaurant concept, and owns Fox Restaurant Concepts, which develops and operates additional restaurant brands, including Flower Child and Culinary Dropout.

The company was founded by David Overton, who opened the first Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Beverly Hills, California, in 1978 after his parents began a cheesecake business.

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