Q4 EPS Estimate for Cheesecake Factory Lifted by Analyst

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) – Zacks Research upped their Q4 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 5th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now forecasts that the restaurant operator will earn $1.27 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.98. The consensus estimate for Cheesecake Factory’s current full-year earnings is $3.71 per share.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Wedbush increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.19.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 1.9 %

Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $49.16 on Friday. Cheesecake Factory has a twelve month low of $33.05 and a twelve month high of $57.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.55.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. The firm had revenue of $920.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $912.67 million.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total value of $5,308,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,092,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,131,162.76. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total value of $1,553,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 39,856 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,687.36. The trade was a 42.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 101,208 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,801,000 after purchasing an additional 13,678 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 489,570 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $23,225,000 after purchasing an additional 146,469 shares in the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter worth about $1,500,000. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 8,215 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapience Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter worth about $1,857,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

About Cheesecake Factory

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.