Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Price Target Raised at Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird raised Cheesecake Factory’s price target from $105 to $120 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying roughly 4.9% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average target of $92.67, despite CAKE trading near its 52-week high.
• Cheesecake Factory exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.44 in earnings per share versus a $1.18 estimate and revenue of $1.03 billion, up 7.7% year over year; insiders sold about $22.3 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $105.00 to $120.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price suggests a potential upside of 4.90% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Cheesecake Factory from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $75.00 to $88.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.67.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $114.39 on Thursday. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $43.07 and a 52-week high of $118.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $107.82 and a 200-day moving average of $85.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $999.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. Cheesecake Factory's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Cheesecake Factory news, EVP Scarlett May sold 7,978 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.66, for a total value of $819,021.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,872,621.06. The trade was a 30.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Janice L. Meyer sold 1,958 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.36, for a total value of $214,126.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,251 shares in the company, valued at $2,324,009.36. The trade was a 8.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 213,749 shares of company stock valued at $22,301,899 in the last ninety days. 8.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAKE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter valued at about $38,020,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter valued at about $35,793,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $13,792,000. Finally, PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,743,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently 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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