The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $85.47.

CAKE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $66.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Cheesecake Factory from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cheesecake Factory news, President David Gordon sold 31,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.03, for a total transaction of $3,515,458.50. Following the sale, the president owned 26,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,957,056.25. The trade was a 54.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 94,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.27, for a total transaction of $10,004,789.15. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 89,805 shares in the company, valued at $9,543,577.35. The trade was a 51.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 213,749 shares of company stock worth $22,301,899 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,242,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $68,008,000 after acquiring an additional 29,037 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter valued at about $38,020,000. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter valued at about $35,793,000. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter worth about $13,743,000. Finally, Palisade Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter worth about $10,014,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $104.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.01. Cheesecake Factory has a twelve month low of $43.07 and a twelve month high of $118.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $103.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.97.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.54 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 43.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

About Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ: CAKE) operates full-service casual dining restaurants in the United States. Its flagship Cheesecake Factory restaurants offer an extensive menu of made-to-order dishes spanning American and international cuisines, along with a broad selection of cheesecakes and other desserts.

The company also operates North Italia, an Italian restaurant concept, and restaurants developed through Fox Restaurant Concepts. In addition, its bakery division produces cheesecakes and other baked goods for the company’s restaurants, retailers, and other foodservice customers.

Founded in 1978 by David Overton, The Cheesecake Factory began as a bakery business before opening its first restaurant in Beverly Hills, California, in 1978.