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

Key Points

• The Cheesecake Factory has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from analysts, with a mix of four sell, five hold, and seven buy ratings.
• Recent earnings showed an EPS of $1.16, beating expectations, while revenue increased by 5.7% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, giving an annualized yield of 1.9%.

Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $61.9375.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 1.0%

CAKE traded down $0.54 on Tuesday, reaching $54.58. 2,053,953 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,186,171. The company's 50 day moving average is $61.66 and its 200-day moving average is $56.10. The company has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.10. Cheesecake Factory has a twelve month low of $38.40 and a twelve month high of $69.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.51.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 12,388 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.88, for a total transaction of $816,121.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,806 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $448,379.28. This trade represents a 64.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President David M. Gordon sold 43,335 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.06, for a total transaction of $2,732,705.10. Following the sale, the president directly owned 24,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,546,987.92. The trade was a 63.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter worth $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 39.2% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 632 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter worth $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 38.5% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,244 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company's stock.

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.