Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $56.66 and last traded at $57.00, with a volume of 255097 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAKE. Wedbush lifted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.40.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.87 and a 200 day moving average of $43.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.51.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $653,178.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at $747,052.76. The trade was a 46.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at $797,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 200,222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,499,000 after acquiring an additional 4,516 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,045 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 268,830 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,753,000 after acquiring an additional 13,235 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

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.