Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $85.40 and last traded at $85.4870, with a volume of 85448 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CAKE shares. Weiss Ratings raised Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Argus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Friday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.75.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $71.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.55.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $978.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $964.57 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 43.74%. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is presently 35.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total value of $161,601.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at $400,497.90. The trade was a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total value of $6,346,080.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,079,779 shares in the company, valued at $187,928,114.58. This represents a 3.27% 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAKE. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 183.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 133,921 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,072,000 after purchasing an additional 86,705 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 503,184 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,401,000 after buying an additional 33,959 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter worth about $1,111,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 140.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,064 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 15,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 127.7% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 60,513 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,055,000 after buying an additional 33,936 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cheesecake Factory

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.