Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Given New $67.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Bank of America from $61.00 to $67.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Bank of America's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.06% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CAKE. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.06.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of CAKE traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.58. The company had a trading volume of 289,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,421,564. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $58.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $33.50 and a 52-week high of $65.99.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.12. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 46.06% and a net margin of 4.33%. The company had revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. Cheesecake Factory's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total value of $2,783,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,774 shares in the company, valued at $1,145,062.88. The trade was a 70.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scarlett May sold 20,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.02, for a total transaction of $1,165,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,281,289.44. The trade was a 47.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,000 shares of company stock worth $7,456,992 in the last three months. Insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 38.5% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,244 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter worth $72,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cheesecake Factory

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.

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