Analysts Set The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target at $59.38

Key Points

• The Cheesecake Factory has received an average consensus rating of "Hold" from 16 brokerages, with four sell ratings, five holds, and seven buy ratings.
• Recent reports show target price fluctuations, with Morgan Stanley setting a $45.00 target, while Goldman Sachs has a target of $67.00, indicating varying analyst perspectives on the company's stock.
• Insider activity is notable, with CFO Matthew Eliot Clark and another insider selling a combined 93,400 shares recently, reflecting a significant decrease in their holdings.

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.94.

CAKE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $64.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Argus set a $60.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

NASDAQ CAKE traded down $1.70 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $64.77. The company had a trading volume of 693,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,454,670. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.09. Cheesecake Factory has a fifty-two week low of $33.50 and a fifty-two week high of $69.70.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.10. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 46.15%. The business had revenue of $955.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $945.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 40,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,289,168. This trade represents a 51.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total transaction of $2,783,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 sold a total of 133,000 shares of company stock worth $7,456,992 over the last quarter. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,244 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter worth approximately $72,000. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

About Cheesecake Factory

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.