The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Receives $52.75 Consensus PT from Analysts

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.06.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAKE. UBS Group raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total value of $1,553,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 39,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,687.36. This trade represents a 42.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total value of $5,308,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 3,092,147 shares in the company, valued at $164,131,162.76. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter worth about $63,114,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,288,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 166.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,076,347 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $51,062,000 after purchasing an additional 673,076 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at $21,827,000. Finally, JCP Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 430,000 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of CAKE traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.96. 769,728 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,189,885. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.62. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.24. Cheesecake Factory has a fifty-two week low of $33.44 and a fifty-two week high of $57.32.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 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 firm had revenue of $920.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $912.67 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

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.