Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Jefferies Financial Group Analyst Says

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $49.00 to $58.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's target price indicates a potential upside of 12.93% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on CAKE. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.93.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

NASDAQ:CAKE traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $51.36. 1,132,737 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 978,841. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $46.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.24. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.48. Cheesecake Factory has a one year low of $31.24 and a one year high of $52.10.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.90% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business had revenue of $865.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $866.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $653,178.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $747,052.76. This represents a 46.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,600 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,341 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.7% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 530,497 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $20,843,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.