Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Price Up 4.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Cheesecake Factory shares rose 4.9% on Friday, closing at $66.96 after trading as high as $66.80. Volume was lighter than usual, with 602,163 shares changing hands.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.05 EPS versus $1.03 expected and revenue of $978.83 million versus $964.57 million expected. Revenue also increased 5.6% from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain mixed: the stock has an average Hold rating and a consensus price target of $64.94, while recent insider sales included shares sold by Director Alexander L. Cappello and Chairman David Overton.

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 4.9% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $66.80 and last traded at $66.96. 602,163 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 1,270,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.94.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50-day moving average is $60.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.37. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $978.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $964.57 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 43.74%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total transaction of $161,601.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $400,497.90. This represents a 28.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the 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 directly owned 3,079,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,928,114.58. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 111,696 shares of company stock worth $6,835,399 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. 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 worth $7,072,000 after buying an additional 86,705 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 33,959 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,366,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,800,388 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $98,373,000 after acquiring an additional 96,074 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 60,948.4% in the 3rd quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 18,925 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 18,894 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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