The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $64.9412.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group set a $53.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total transaction of $6,346,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,079,779 shares in the company, valued at $187,928,114.58. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total value of $161,601.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at $400,497.90. This represents a 28.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% in the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:CAKE opened at $75.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.04. Cheesecake Factory has a 1 year low of $43.07 and a 1 year high of $77.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $978.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.57 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.74% and a net margin of 4.34%.The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is 35.09%.

About Cheesecake Factory

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.