Raymond James Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its target price raised by Raymond James Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on CAKE. Barclays upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.94.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $62.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.17. Cheesecake Factory has a fifty-two week low of $35.40 and a fifty-two week high of $69.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $62.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.11.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $955.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $945.82 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.92% and a net margin of 4.33%. Cheesecake Factory’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, President David M. Gordon sold 43,335 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.06, for a total transaction of $2,732,705.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 24,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,546,987.92. This trade represents a 63.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total value of $2,783,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,774 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 188,723 shares of company stock valued at $11,005,819 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 632 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,244 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

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.