Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $54.73 and traded as high as $55.66. Cheesecake Factory shares last traded at $55.30, with a volume of 1,124,905 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAKE has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.81.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 1.0%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.97 and a 200 day moving average of $54.73. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.68% and a net margin of 3.96%.The firm had revenue of $961.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $949.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Cheesecake Factory’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 39.09%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.70, for a total transaction of $459,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,896,713. This trade represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ashley W. Hanscom sold 2,951 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.64, for a total transaction of $193,703.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,731.24. This trade represents a 21.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,582 shares of company stock valued at $1,337,936. 8.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% in 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 grew 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Arax Advisory Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 3,343.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.