Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stephens raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.75.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of CAKE stock opened at $49.74 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $30.96 and a 52-week high of $50.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.36 and its 200 day moving average is $40.09.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.13 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.90% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $653,178.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $747,052.76. This trade represents a 46.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 276.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Wealth Alliance bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the third quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. 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.