The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (CAKE) - What Are Researchers Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mostly neutral: Of 20 analysts, 12 rate CAKE Hold, five Buy, one Strong Buy and two Sell; the average 1-year price target is $95.47.
• Quarterly results beat estimates: Cheesecake Factory reported EPS of $1.02 versus $0.96 expected and revenue of $1.03 billion versus $1.01 billion expected, with revenue up 13.9% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% annual yield. Insiders sold about 29,154 shares worth $3.3 million over the past 90 days.

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.47.

CAKE has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 2.7%

NASDAQ CAKE traded up $2.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $109.11. 926,102 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,574,188. Cheesecake Factory has a fifty-two week low of $43.07 and a fifty-two week high of $118.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.14. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $107.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.23.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The restaurant operator reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 44.53% and a net margin of 5.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is 28.44%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, CFO Matthew Clark sold 23,832 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.31, for a total transaction of $2,700,403.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,111,300.79. This trade represents a 34.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scarlett May sold 2,939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.12, for a total value of $335,398.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,746,264.24. This represents a 16.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,154 shares of company stock valued at $3,298,256. 8.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,768,000. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,640,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 951.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 84,108 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $8,852,000 after buying an additional 76,107 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 7.9% in the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 29,574 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,112,000 after buying an additional 2,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter worth approximately $1,386,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated NASDAQ: CAKE is a restaurant company that operates and licenses restaurants under several brands. Its portfolio includes The Cheesecake Factory, North Italia and restaurants developed by Fox Restaurant Concepts, such as Flower Child and Culinary Dropout. The company's restaurants serve a range of dishes, including appetizers, entrees and desserts. Its bakery division produces cheesecakes and other baked goods for its restaurants and for foodservice and retail customers.

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