Brokerages Set The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Target Price at $59.38

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.94.

Several research firms have commented on CAKE. Bank of America boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 5.2%

Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $66.47 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.63 and a 200-day moving average of $54.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Cheesecake Factory has a twelve month low of $33.50 and a twelve month high of $69.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.16.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $955.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $945.82 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 46.15% and a net margin of 4.33%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is 33.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Scarlett May sold 18,800 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.82, for a total transaction of $1,105,816.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,345,331.04. The trade was a 45.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $2,402,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 40,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,289,168. This trade represents a 51.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,456,992 over the last three months. Insiders own 8.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CAKE. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 452,955 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,382,000 after buying an additional 21,223 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 32.1% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 144,353 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,195,000 after acquiring an additional 35,058 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter worth approximately $246,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 392,466.7% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,777 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 11,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter valued at approximately $637,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cheesecake Factory

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.