Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target Cut to $45.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $45.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on CAKE. UBS Group raised their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.06.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $50.41 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Cheesecake Factory has a 12-month low of $33.44 and a 12-month high of $57.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.43 and its 200-day moving average is $48.60.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $920.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $912.67 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. Equities analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total transaction of $5,308,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,092,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,131,162.76. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total transaction of $1,553,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,687.36. This trade represents a 42.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

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.