The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus Hold rating on CAKE from 17 firms (4 sell / 7 hold / 6 buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $61.81 and a wide target range roughly $53–$75 following recent downgrades and upgrades.
• Company insiders have been net sellers (20,582 shares sold, about $1.34M in the last 90 days, including EVP Scarlett May and Ashley Hanscom), though insiders still own 8.4% and institutional/hedge fund ownership is very high at 94.48%.
• Cheesecake Factory slightly beat the quarter (EPS $1.00 vs. $0.98; revenue $961.6M vs. $949.0M), reported 4.4% YoY revenue growth, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 (annualized $1.20, ~2.2% yield).

Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.8125.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAKE. Stephens cut Cheesecake Factory from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Cheesecake Factory from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho set a $75.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group set a $53.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, EVP Scarlett May sold 5,206 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.95, for a total value of $327,717.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,618,759.25. This represents a 16.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ashley W. Hanscom sold 2,951 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.64, for a total transaction of $193,703.64. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at $724,731.24. This represents a 21.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 20,582 shares of company stock valued at $1,337,936 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,187 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,487 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,527 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,918 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CAKE opened at $55.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Cheesecake Factory has a 52 week low of $42.69 and a 52 week high of $69.70.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.96% and a return on equity of 45.68%. The firm had revenue of $961.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $949.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. Cheesecake Factory's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Cheesecake Factory's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.09%.

About Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated NASDAQ: CAKE is an American restaurant company and distributor renowned for its full-service casual-dining concept and specialty cheesecakes. Headquartered in Calabasas Hills, California, the company operates more than 200 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory® brand across the United States, Puerto Rico and select international markets. In addition to sit-down dining, Cheesecake Factory franchised locations offer catering and take-out services, while a separate manufacturing arm supplies branded cheesecakes and desserts to supermarkets, hotels and other foodservice operators.

The origins of the brand trace back to a small cheesecake bakery founded in Detroit in the 1940s.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.