Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Sets New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) hit 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAKE. Argus set a $60.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 1.8%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $53.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.14. 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 (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $927.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 46.06%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given 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 yield of 1.80%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 20,774 shares in the company, valued at $1,145,062.88. This represents a 70.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scarlett May sold 18,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.82, for a total transaction of $1,105,816.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,345,331.04. This trade represents a 45.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,000 shares of company stock worth $7,456,992 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAKE. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 156.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,045,705 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $148,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,194 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter valued at about $75,795,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 83.5% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,591,205 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $126,088,000 after buying an additional 1,178,722 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter valued at about $47,720,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 64.1% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,766,131 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $85,940,000 after buying an additional 689,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

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.