Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Rating Lowered by Mizuho

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) was downgraded by Mizuho from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $85.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. Mizuho’s price target points to a potential upside of 0.33% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $66.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Northcoast Research cut Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.81.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $84.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a PEG ratio of 1.98 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. Cheesecake Factory has a 1 year low of $43.07 and a 1 year high of $87.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $74.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.77.

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

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $400,497.90. This trade represents a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total transaction of $6,346,080.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,079,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,928,114.58. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 183.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 133,921 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,072,000 after purchasing an additional 86,705 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 503,184 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,401,000 after purchasing an additional 33,959 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,111,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 127.7% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 60,513 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 33,936 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 140.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,064 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 15,242 shares in 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.