Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Trading 4.9% Higher – Should You Buy?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) shares rose 4.9% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $66.80 and last traded at $66.96. Approximately 602,163 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 1,270,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAKE has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho set a $75.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.94.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 3.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.43. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 43.74%. The business had revenue of $978.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $964.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is 35.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Scarlett May sold 5,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.95, for a total transaction of $327,717.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,715 shares in the company, valued at $1,618,759.25. This represents a 16.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman owned 3,079,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,928,114.58. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 111,696 shares of company stock worth $6,835,399 over the last 90 days. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% during the fourth 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 increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 115.8% during the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 682 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.