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

Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.8125.

A number of analysts recently commented on CAKE shares. Raymond James Financial lowered Cheesecake Factory from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens cut Cheesecake Factory from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ CAKE opened at $62.99 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.13. Cheesecake Factory has a 12-month low of $42.69 and a 12-month high of $69.70.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $961.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $949.03 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.96% and a return on equity of 45.68%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Cheesecake Factory’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 39.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, insider Ashley W. Hanscom sold 2,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.64, for a total value of $193,703.64. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,041 shares in the company, valued at $724,731.24. This represents a 21.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total transaction of $40,474.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $393,339.54. The trade was a 9.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 15,376 shares of company stock valued at $1,010,219 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 632 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

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.