Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target Raised to $40.00 at Morgan Stanley

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $37.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential downside of 26.81% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on CAKE. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.19.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

NASDAQ:CAKE traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $54.65. 2,232,702 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,442,655. Cheesecake Factory has a 12 month low of $33.05 and a 12 month high of $57.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.51. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $51.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.46.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $912.67 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.