Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Given New $59.00 Price Target at Wedbush

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its target price increased by Wedbush from $52.00 to $59.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on CAKE. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.75.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 0.1 %

Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $48.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.43. Cheesecake Factory has a one year low of $30.96 and a one year high of $50.75.

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

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.06%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 37,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 2.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.2% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 23,110 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $937,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.