JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Price

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $55.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would indicate a potential downside of 4.71% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on CAKE. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.81.

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Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 3.4 %

NASDAQ CAKE traded up $1.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $50.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 349,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,136,110. 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 has a 52-week low of $33.05 and a 52-week high of $57.32. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $51.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.55.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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. Research analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total transaction of $5,308,000.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. 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.