UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its target price upped by UBS Group from $36.00 to $41.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sell rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on CAKE. StockNews.com lowered Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.40.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 0.4 %

CAKE opened at $50.45 on Tuesday. Cheesecake Factory has a fifty-two week low of $31.24 and a fifty-two week high of $52.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $48.45 and its 200 day moving average is $42.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAKE. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 37,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,522,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,074 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.