Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Cheesecake Factory shares reached a new 52-week high after Oppenheimer raised its price target from $72 to $91 and maintained an “outperform” rating. The stock traded as high as $88.30.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: five analysts rate CAKE a Buy, ten a Hold and three a Sell, producing an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $70.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.05 in EPS and $978.83 million in revenue, while revenue grew 5.6% year over year. Insiders have sold shares, but institutional investors continue to own a substantial 94.48% of the stock.

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $72.00 to $91.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Cheesecake Factory traded as high as $88.30 and last traded at $87.20, with a volume of 43352 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $87.03.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CAKE. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus set a $72.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $66.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheesecake Factory news, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman owned 3,079,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,928,114.58. The trade was a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total transaction of $161,601.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,187 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,487 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,527 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 3.8% in the first quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 5,802 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 0.2%

The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's fifty day moving average is $74.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 43.74%. The business had revenue of $978.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $964.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

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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