Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wedbush Analyst Says

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price target upped by Wedbush from $52.00 to $59.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on CAKE. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens lifted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.75.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of CAKE traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $48.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 436,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 970,628. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.70 and its 200 day moving average is $39.30. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.47. Cheesecake Factory has a 12-month low of $30.96 and a 12-month high of $50.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 43.90%. The company had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.06%.

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 transaction of $653,178.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $747,052.76. The trade was a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 942,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,038,000 after acquiring an additional 223,497 shares in the last quarter. JCP Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter worth about $5,149,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 32.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 403,271 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,353,000 after buying an additional 99,341 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.8% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,831,381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $111,245,000 after buying an additional 76,578 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 8.0% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 819,328 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,191,000 after buying an additional 60,545 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.