Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Earns "Neutral" Rating from Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Piper Sandler raised its price target for Cheesecake Factory from $54.00 to $62.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating, suggesting a slight downside potential from the last closing price.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.16, surpassing expectations of $1.06, along with a revenue increase of 5.7% year-over-year, totaling $955.83 million.
• Recent insider trading saw significant sales, with Director Alexander L. Cappello selling 12,388 shares at an average price of $65.88, representing a notable decrease in ownership of the stock.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating restated by investment analysts at Piper Sandler in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $62.00 price target on the restaurant operator's stock, up from their previous price target of $54.00. Piper Sandler's price target suggests a potential upside of 0.40% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $64.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 0.2%

CAKE opened at $61.75 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Cheesecake Factory has a 12 month low of $34.53 and a 12 month high of $69.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.52 and a 200 day moving average of $54.56.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $955.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $945.82 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 45.92%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Scarlett May sold 20,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.02, for a total value of $1,165,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,281,289.44. This represents a 47.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of Cheesecake Factory 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 sale, the insider directly owned 20,774 shares in the company, valued at $1,145,062.88. This represents a 70.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 145,388 shares of company stock valued at $8,273,113. Company insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 7,507 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 33,954 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 12,370 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth $6,513,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at $3,605,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth about $972,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.