Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Given Overweight Rating at Stephens

Stephens reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $50.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upgraded Cheesecake Factory from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $40.25.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

CAKE traded down $0.72 during trading on Thursday, hitting $34.38. 509,241 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 948,477. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Cheesecake Factory has a one year low of $28.58 and a one year high of $41.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $38.68 and its 200 day moving average is $36.53.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 45.30%. The company had revenue of $904.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $909.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Cheesecake Factory’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.54%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 3,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $151,778.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,125,687.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 8.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 2,360.7% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 276.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter valued at about $67,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.