Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Given a $45.00 Price Target by Morgan Stanley Analysts

Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

CAKE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Argus set a $60.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 target price (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.06.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:CAKE traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $61.78. 851,123 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,253,884. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $58.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.53. Cheesecake Factory has a twelve month low of $33.50 and a twelve month high of $65.99. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.16.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.12. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 46.06% and a net margin of 4.33%. The company had revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.17 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Scarlett May sold 18,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.82, for a total value of $1,105,816.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,345,331.04. This trade represents a 45.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 20,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,145,062.88. This represents a 70.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,443,458 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $258,238,000 after buying an additional 21,096 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 156.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,045,705 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $148,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,194 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 83.5% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,591,205 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $126,088,000 after buying an additional 1,178,722 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 64.1% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,766,131 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $85,940,000 after buying an additional 689,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 17.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,604,626 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $78,081,000 after buying an additional 241,575 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.