Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Earns "Neutral" Rating from The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $67.00 target price on the restaurant operator's stock, up from their previous target price of $66.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CAKE. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Argus set a $60.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.81.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $64.17. The stock had a trading volume of 878,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,252,535. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.16. Cheesecake Factory has a 12 month low of $33.50 and a 12 month high of $65.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $56.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.45.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.12. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 46.06%. The company had revenue of $927.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.17 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. Cheesecake Factory's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total value of $2,783,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,145,062.88. The trade was a 70.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $2,402,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,289,168. This trade represents a 51.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,000 shares of company stock worth $7,456,992 over the last three months. Company insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,553 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 618,670 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,350,000 after purchasing an additional 20,769 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,356,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 186.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 23,637 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,175,000 after buying an additional 15,398 shares during the period. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated operates and licenses restaurants in the United States and Canada. The company operates bakeries that produce cheesecakes and other baked products for its restaurants, international licensees, third-party bakery customers, external foodservice operators, retailers, and distributors.