Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Hits New 52-Week High - What's Next?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $66.04 and last traded at $65.48, with a volume of 835101 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAKE. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.38.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 3.3%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $58.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

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 net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 46.06%. The company had revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. Cheesecake Factory's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, EVP Scarlett May sold 18,800 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,345,331.04. The trade was a 45.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 owned 40,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,289,168. This represents a 51.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 133,000 shares of company stock worth $7,456,992. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,805 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,051 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,121 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,772 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,677 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company's stock.

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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