Stephens Downgrades Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) to Equal Weight

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) was downgraded by research analysts at Stephens from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $65.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.30% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on CAKE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $57.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.81.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $63.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.11. Cheesecake Factory has a 12 month low of $42.69 and a 12 month high of $69.70. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.02.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.96% and a return on equity of 47.09%. The company had revenue of $961.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $949.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Cheesecake Factory by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,337,671 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $118,006,000 after buying an additional 280,553 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 80,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,088,000 after acquiring an additional 41,034 shares in the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at $2,027,000. Finally, Odyssean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth about $730,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

More Cheesecake Factory News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cheesecake Factory this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus — EPS $1.00 vs $0.98 est and revenue $961.6M vs $949.0M; revenue grew 4.4% year-over-year, driven by unit openings. Earnings Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Company boosted its quarterly dividend (11.1% increase) and expanded its share repurchase authorization — a direct capital-return boost that supports shareholder value. Dividend & Buyback Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated growth plans — signaling up to 26 new units in 2026 and highlighting strong performance from the Flower Child concept, which helps offset softness at the namesake brand. Expansion & Brand Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Company issued FY‑2026 revenue guidance near ~$3.9B and Q1 revenue guidance of $955M–$970M, roughly in line with Street expectations — guidance is not aggressive but provides clarity. Earnings Highlights / Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary mixed but supportive in places — William Blair kept a Buy rating citing resilient fundamentals even as others call for caution on valuation. Analyst Views
• Negative Sentiment: Comparable-sales weakness at the Cheesecake Factory brand (about -2.2%) and narrower operating margins (noted compression in the quarter) prompted an initial stock pullback and raise near‑term profit concerns. Comparable Sales / Volatility
• Negative Sentiment: Some shops trimmed expectations or moved to neutral/equal‑weight (e.g., Stephens downgrade; Wells Fargo maintained a cautious view), reflecting concerns about premium valuation versus mixed traffic trends. Analyst Downgrades / Holds

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.