Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $72.00 to $91.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Cheesecake Factory traded as high as $88.30 and last traded at $87.20, with a volume of 43352 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $87.03.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $66.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.00.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 3,079,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $187,928,114.58. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,497.90. This trade represents a 28.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 115.8% in the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 682 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 0.2%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.01.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $978.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $964.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

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.