Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its target price raised by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $60.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential downside of 4.28% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.38.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $62.68 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $58.78 and a 200 day moving average of $53.19. Cheesecake Factory has a 12 month low of $33.50 and a 12 month high of $65.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,774 shares in the company, valued at $1,145,062.88. The trade was a 70.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scarlett May sold 20,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.02, for a total value of $1,165,216.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,281,289.44. The trade was a 47.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,000 shares of company stock worth $7,456,992 in the last quarter. 8.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 199.2% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 19,882 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 13,237 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 27,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter valued at $422,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 42,743 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,678,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, White Wing Wealth Management bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter valued at $334,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.