The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Receives $59.18 Consensus PT from Analysts

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.1765.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CAKE shares. Stephens dropped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $70.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $70.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $57.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $52.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.21. Cheesecake Factory has a twelve month low of $42.69 and a twelve month high of $69.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.08. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 46.35% and a net margin of 4.33%.The firm had revenue of $907.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $912.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 32.73%.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Cheesecake Factory by 24.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,057,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $112,401,000 after buying an additional 407,223 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,800,388 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $98,373,000 after acquiring an additional 96,074 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,207,196 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $65,965,000 after acquiring an additional 28,361 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter valued at $47,720,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 54.0% during the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 747,046 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,819,000 after purchasing an additional 262,081 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

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.