Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Sets New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $59.14 and last traded at $58.84, with a volume of 1334129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CAKE. Barclays dropped their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Argus set a $60.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company's fifty day moving average is $51.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.75. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.14.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. The firm had revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory's payout ratio is 33.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,289,168. The trade was a 51.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 20,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,145,062.88. This trade represents a 70.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,456,992 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 156.2% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 24,406 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 14,880 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 134,328 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,536,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,870 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,037,000 after acquiring an additional 15,342 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 109,800 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $5,343,000 after acquiring an additional 8,592 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.