Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Hits New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $57.50 and last traded at $57.12, with a volume of 152592 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAKE. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wedbush increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Argus set a $60.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory in a research report 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 MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.00.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.14. The stock's 50 day moving average is $50.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 45.89%. Cheesecake Factory's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of Cheesecake Factory 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 sale, the insider now owns 20,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,145,062.88. The trade was a 70.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Scarlett May sold 20,800 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.02, for a total transaction of $1,165,216.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,281,289.44. The trade was a 47.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 114,200 shares of company stock valued at $6,351,176 in the last ninety days. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter valued at approximately $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.