Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Given New $62.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Citigroup from $67.00 to $62.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.75.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of CAKE traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 867,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,182,488. The stock's 50-day moving average is $49.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44. Cheesecake Factory has a one year low of $33.44 and a one year high of $57.32.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 45.89%. The company had revenue of $920.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $912.67 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total transaction of $1,553,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,856 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,114,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at $56,288,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 166.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,076,347 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,062,000 after purchasing an additional 673,076 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter worth approximately $21,827,000. Finally, JCP Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 181.3% in the 4th quarter. JCP Investment Management LLC now owns 667,210 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $31,652,000 after acquiring an additional 430,000 shares during the period. 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.