Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target Raised to $79.00 at Bank of America

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Bank of America from $66.00 to $79.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.82% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on CAKE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Cheesecake Factory from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Argus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.29.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of CAKE stock traded down $2.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $77.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 164,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,302. Cheesecake Factory has a fifty-two week low of $43.07 and a fifty-two week high of $80.93. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.01.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.74% and a net margin of 4.34%.The company had revenue of $978.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total transaction of $161,601.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $400,497.90. The trade was a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total value of $6,346,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 3,079,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $187,928,114.58. The trade was a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 8.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 24.9% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 55,576 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,043,000 after acquiring an additional 11,088 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Cheesecake Factory by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,940 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,161 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter worth approximately $196,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,558 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Long Road Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Long Road Investment Counsel LLC now owns 43,920 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,405,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.