Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Rating Increased to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) was upgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Thursday. The firm currently has a $68.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.29% from the company’s current price.

CAKE has been the subject of several other research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Cheesecake Factory from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.94.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $56.53 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.04. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $43.07 and a 52-week high of $69.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.85.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 43.74%. The company had revenue of $978.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 7,000 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.70, for a total transaction of $459,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,896,713. This trade represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scarlett May sold 5,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.95, for a total value of $327,717.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,618,759.25. This represents a 16.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 124,582 shares of company stock worth $7,684,016. Insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. NFSG Corp raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 115.8% during the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 682 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) is an American restaurant company and distributor renowned for its full-service casual-dining concept and specialty cheesecakes. Headquartered in Calabasas Hills, California, the company operates more than 200 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory® brand across the United States, Puerto Rico and select international markets. In addition to sit-down dining, Cheesecake Factory franchised locations offer catering and take-out services, while a separate manufacturing arm supplies branded cheesecakes and desserts to supermarkets, hotels and other foodservice operators.

The origins of the brand trace back to a small cheesecake bakery founded in Detroit in the 1940s.