Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target Raised to $91.00 at Oppenheimer

Key Points

• Oppenheimer raised Cheesecake Factory’s price target from $72 to $91 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying 7.41% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has a consensus “hold” rating and an average price target of $70, despite recent target increases from Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.
• Cheesecake Factory exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.05 in adjusted earnings per share and $978.83 million in revenue, while shares opened at $84.72 near their 52-week high.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Oppenheimer from $72.00 to $91.00 in a report released on Monday. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Oppenheimer's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.41% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on CAKE. Citigroup upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $66.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.00.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $84.72 on Monday. Cheesecake Factory has a 52 week low of $43.07 and a 52 week high of $87.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.00 and a 200-day moving average of $64.84.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.74% and a net margin of 4.34%.The business had revenue of $978.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $964.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. Cheesecake Factory's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total value of $6,346,080.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,079,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $187,928,114.58. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total transaction of $161,601.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $400,497.90. This trade represents a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 183.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 133,921 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $7,072,000 after buying an additional 86,705 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 503,184 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,401,000 after acquiring an additional 33,959 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,111,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 127.7% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 60,513 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 33,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 140.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,064 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 15,242 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

About Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated NASDAQ: CAKE is an American restaurant company and distributor renowned for its full-service casual-dining concept and specialty cheesecakes. Headquartered in Calabasas Hills, California, the company operates more than 200 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory® brand across the United States, Puerto Rico and select international markets. In addition to sit-down dining, Cheesecake Factory franchised locations offer catering and take-out services, while a separate manufacturing arm supplies branded cheesecakes and desserts to supermarkets, hotels and other foodservice operators.

The origins of the brand trace back to a small cheesecake bakery founded in Detroit in the 1940s.

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