Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Rating Lowered by Northcoast Research

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Northcoast Research from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CAKE. Stephens lifted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho set a $75.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.94.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

NASDAQ:CAKE opened at $75.28 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $62.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.46. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.04. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $43.07 and a 52-week high of $76.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $978.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $964.57 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.74% and a net margin of 4.34%.Cheesecake Factory’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. NFSG Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 115.8% during the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 682 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

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.