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

Key Points

• Analysts give The Cheesecake Factory a consensus rating of Hold from 17 brokerages (4 sell, 7 hold, 6 buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $62.00.
• The company beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.00 vs. $0.98 and revenue of $961.6M (up 4.4% YoY); the stock trades around $62.68 with a one‑year range of $43.07–$69.70 and a market cap of $3.12B.
• Cheesecake Factory raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 (annualized $1.20, 1.9% yield), while insiders sold about $1.34M of stock over the last 90 days amid 8% insider ownership and roughly 94.5% institutional ownership.

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.00.

CAKE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group set a $53.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $75.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $62.68 on Wednesday. Cheesecake Factory has a one year low of $43.07 and a one year high of $69.70. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.46.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.68% and a net margin of 3.96%.The business had revenue of $961.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $949.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 635 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at $393,339.54. The trade was a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.70, for a total value of $459,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,896,713. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 20,582 shares of company stock valued at $1,337,936 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the third quarter worth approximately $2,743,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1,041.1% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 28,515 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,786,000 after acquiring an additional 26,016 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 183.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 133,921 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $7,072,000 after acquiring an additional 86,705 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 186.9% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 43,226 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,362,000 after acquiring an additional 28,159 shares during the period. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,366,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

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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