Raymond James Financial Increases Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target to $73.00

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial has raised its price target for Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) from $70.00 to $73.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.81% from the current price, along with maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• Several other analysts have provided mixed ratings for CAKE, with Goldman Sachs maintaining a "neutral" rating at $67.00, while seven analysts have given it a "buy" rating, reflecting varied investor sentiment.
• During its recent earnings report, Cheesecake Factory exceeded expectations with $1.16 earnings per share and reported a 5.7% year-over-year revenue increase to $955.83 million.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Raymond James Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $67.00 price target (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.94.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

CAKE stock traded down $0.16 on Friday, hitting $61.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,107,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,730,257. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.24. Cheesecake Factory has a 1 year low of $35.40 and a 1 year high of $69.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $955.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $945.82 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 45.92%. Cheesecake Factory's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Cheesecake Factory news, EVP Scarlett May sold 20,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,281,289.44. This trade represents a 47.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President David M. Gordon sold 43,335 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.06, for a total transaction of $2,732,705.10. Following the transaction, the president owned 24,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,546,987.92. This trade represents a 63.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 188,723 shares of company stock worth $11,005,819 in the last three months. Company insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 38,417 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 15,600 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1,231.8% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 136,445 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,473,000 after purchasing an additional 126,200 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 115,183 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $5,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,133 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,051 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.