Brokerages Set The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) PT at $54.00

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $54.00.

Several research firms recently commented on CAKE. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of CAKE opened at $57.33 on Friday. Cheesecake Factory has a twelve month low of $33.50 and a twelve month high of $59.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.79.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $927.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, EVP Scarlett May sold 20,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.02, for a total transaction of $1,165,216.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,281,289.44. This represents a 47.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total transaction of $2,783,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,774 shares in the company, valued at $1,145,062.88. The trade was a 70.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 133,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,456,992. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter worth $49,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter worth $72,000. 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.