Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target Raised to $58.00

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price target lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $49.00 to $58.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

CAKE has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.93.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of CAKE stock opened at $51.36 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Cheesecake Factory has a 1-year low of $31.24 and a 1-year high of $52.10.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 43.90%. The firm had revenue of $865.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is presently 41.06%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $653,178.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at $747,052.76. The trade was 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 available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter worth about $67,000. Wealth Alliance purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter worth $213,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter valued at $223,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter valued at $227,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.