Cheesecake Factory’s (CAKE) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a $67.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $66.00.

A number of other analysts have also commented on CAKE. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Argus set a $60.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.44.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 0.9%

Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $64.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.16. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $33.50 and a 52-week high of $65.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.71.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 46.06% and a net margin of 4.33%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total transaction of $2,783,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,774 shares in the company, valued at $1,145,062.88. This trade represents a 70.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $2,402,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 40,878 shares in the company, valued at $2,289,168. The trade was a 51.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 133,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,456,992. 8.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 38.5% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,244 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter worth $72,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 24.4% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

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.