Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $60.05 and last traded at $59.32, with a volume of 154968 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAKE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus set a $60.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 0.2%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $927.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $927.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total value of $2,783,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,145,062.88. The trade was a 70.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scarlett May sold 18,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.82, for a total value of $1,105,816.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,345,331.04. The trade was a 45.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,000 shares of company stock worth $7,456,992 in the last ninety days. 8.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CAKE. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter valued at $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter worth approximately $72,000. 94.48% of the stock is 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.