Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $60.05 and last traded at $59.32, with a volume of 154968 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAKE shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Argus set a $60.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.00.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 0.2%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $927.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter valued at $72,000. 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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