UBS Group Increases Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target to $50.00

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by UBS Group from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sell rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

CAKE has been the topic of several other reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.38.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of CAKE stock traded up $0.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $62.68. 1,408,480 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,257,505. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $58.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.16. Cheesecake Factory has a twelve month low of $33.50 and a twelve 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.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 46.06% and a net margin of 4.33%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 1.72%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,289,168. The trade was a 51.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $2,783,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,000 shares of company stock worth $7,456,992 over the last ninety days. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 199.2% in the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 19,882 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 13,237 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 27,116 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter valued at $422,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 42,743 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,678,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, White Wing Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter valued at $334,000. 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.