Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $50.82 and last traded at $50.60, with a volume of 27577 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $49.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CAKE. StockNews.com lowered Cheesecake Factory from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.75.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 1.8 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.30. 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 cap of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.47.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.13 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.90% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.06%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $653,178.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at $747,052.76. The trade was a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 276.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. Wealth Alliance purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter valued at about $213,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 3rd quarter valued at about $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

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.