Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Price Target Increased to $40.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its target price upped by Robert W. Baird from $37.00 to $40.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $38.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $40.25.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

CAKE traded down $1.85 on Thursday, hitting $35.00. 424,975 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 939,379. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.51. Cheesecake Factory has a twelve month low of $28.58 and a twelve month high of $41.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $904.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $909.19 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 45.30%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 49.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Keith Carango sold 3,785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total transaction of $151,778.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,125,687.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2,360.7% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 276.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.