Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Issues Earnings Results

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 46.35% and a net margin of 4.33%.The company had revenue of $961.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $949.03 million.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 2.4%

NASDAQ CAKE traded up $1.51 on Wednesday, hitting $64.07. 2,941,350 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,398,638. Cheesecake Factory has a fifty-two week low of $42.69 and a fifty-two week high of $69.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAKE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $57.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.12.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1,059.3% during the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 618,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,771,000 after acquiring an additional 564,744 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,057,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $112,401,000 after purchasing an additional 407,223 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 214.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 512,085 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,850,000 after purchasing an additional 349,168 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 1,583.7% during the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 287,219 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,499,000 after purchasing an additional 270,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 54.0% in the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 747,046 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,819,000 after purchasing an additional 262,081 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.