Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $42.86, but opened at $46.50. Cheesecake Factory shares last traded at $48.20, with a volume of 415,007 shares changing hands.

The restaurant operator reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.13 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 43.62%. Cheesecake Factory’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAKE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 23,110 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter valued at about $345,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 5.5% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 77,660 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,149,000 after purchasing an additional 4,053 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 11.4% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,343 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 8.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.01 and its 200-day moving average is $38.36.

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.