The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate CAKE a "Hold" — 17 analysts cover the stock (4 sell, 7 hold, 6 buy) with an average 12‑month target of $61.81 and individual price targets ranging roughly from $53 to $75.
• Cheesecake Factory beat estimates for the quarter, reporting $1.00 EPS vs. $0.98 expected and revenue of $961.6M (up 4.4% YoY), and declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.30 ($1.20 annualized, ~1.9% yield).
• Insider selling has occurred recently (15,376 shares, ~$1.01M over 90 days) while institutions own 94.48% of the stock; CAKE trades near $63 with a 52‑week range of $42.69–$69.70 and a market cap of about $3.14B (P/E ~20.5).

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

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAKE. Mizuho set a $75.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group set a $53.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Cheesecake Factory from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 19th.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

CAKE opened at $62.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.59. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $42.69 and a 52-week high of $69.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.96. The business's fifty day moving average is $59.83 and its 200-day moving average is $55.13.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.96% and a return on equity of 45.68%. The business had revenue of $961.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $949.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Cheesecake Factory's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Spero G. Alex sold 4,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.00, for a total transaction of $316,140.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 635 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total transaction of $40,474.90. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $393,339.54. This represents a 9.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,376 shares of company stock valued at $1,010,219. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAKE. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 632 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,187 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,487 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted 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 buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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