The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $85.47

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.47.

Several analysts have weighed in on CAKE shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $91.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $105.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $104.84 and a 200-day moving average of $80.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Cheesecake Factory has a 52 week low of $43.07 and a 52 week high of $118.46.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.26. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.97% and a net margin of 4.61%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.53 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is 32.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, Director Edie Ames sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.95, for a total value of $320,850.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,500. This trade represents a 23.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President David Gordon sold 31,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.03, for a total value of $3,515,458.50. Following the transaction, the president owned 26,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,957,056.25. This represents a 54.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 213,749 shares of company stock worth $22,301,899. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,242,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $68,008,000 after acquiring an additional 29,037 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,020,000. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,793,000. PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter worth about $13,743,000. Finally, Palisade Capital Management LP bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the 2nd quarter worth about $10,014,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

About Cheesecake Factory

Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ: CAKE) operates full-service restaurants known for extensive menus, generous portions and a broad selection of cheesecakes and other desserts. Its flagship brand, The Cheesecake Factory, serves American cuisine influenced by international flavors, including appetizers, salads, pastas, seafood, steaks, burgers and specialty beverages.

The company also operates restaurants under the North Italia brand, which specializes in modern Italian cuisine, and owns Fox Restaurant Concepts, a collection of restaurant brands with varied culinary themes.