Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

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

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on CAKE. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $67.00 price target (up from $66.00) on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.38.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock traded up $2.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,288,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,259,047. Cheesecake Factory has a 1 year low of $33.50 and a 1 year high of $66.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $58.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.26.

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

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

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 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 directly owned 20,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,145,062.88. The trade was a 70.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $2,402,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,000 shares of company stock worth $7,456,992 over the last three months. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 100.0% during the first 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 during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 38.5% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter worth $72,000. Hedge funds and other 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.