The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.58.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded Cheesecake Factory from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $47.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 3,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total transaction of $151,778.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,125,687.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,568,464 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $168,724,000 after purchasing an additional 22,099 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 0.8% in the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 758,783 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,430,000 after buying an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 559,492 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $19,588,000 after acquiring an additional 13,352 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 529,375 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $18,533,000 after acquiring an additional 41,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 476,762 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,446,000 after acquiring an additional 9,409 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CAKE opened at $36.96 on Thursday. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $28.58 and a 52-week high of $41.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.30. 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 (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $891.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $890.49 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 42.15%. Cheesecake Factory’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.54%.

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.