The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $54.63.

CAKE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report 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. Argus set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $2,402,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 40,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,289,168. This trade represents a 51.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,145,062.88. This represents a 70.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 133,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,456,992. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in 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 worth $148,204,000 after buying an additional 1,859,194 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter valued at $75,795,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 83.5% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,591,205 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $126,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,722 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter worth $47,720,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 64.1% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,766,131 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $85,940,000 after purchasing an additional 689,784 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ CAKE opened at $65.27 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Cheesecake Factory has a 12-month low of $33.50 and a 12-month high of $65.60. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $55.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.16.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 46.06% and a net margin of 4.33%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is 33.86%.

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.

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